Donald Trump’s election as the 45th president of the United States is the most significant political event to happen in my lifetime. In some respects Trump’s victory is more remarkable than Ronald Reagan’s in 1980, eight months before I was born. Reagan, also a former Democrat, was a two-term governor of California who had been active in public life since traveling the country for General Electric in the 1950s. Trump has never held office, never been in the military, and if anything faced more resistance than Reagan did from Hollywood, D.C., New York, and academia. None of that stopped Trump from winning more Electoral College votes than any Republican since George H. W. Bush in 1988. Moreover, for at least two years Trump will have something Reagan never did — a Republican Congress.
The temptation to evade the reality of Trump’s victory by ascribing it to racism, sexism, celebrity, the considerable weaknesses of his opponent, or just plain luck is real, especially for liberals and Never Trump conservatives. As always, though, it’s a mistake to give into temptation. Trump had many of the qualities of a successful presidential candidate: charisma, a strong message, future-oriented policies, a call for peace through strength, and a core base of support. They are what brought him to office, and Republicans to a national position the party has not enjoyed since the 1920s.
