So many of my Brazilian friends have congratulated me on the election of Donald Trump as America’s next President! Even though the media in Brazil, like the media in the US, has mostly ignored the scandals and corruption surrounding Hillary Clinton, my friends here are sharp and read more than the mainstream media to get their news. The media in Brazil leans very much to the left.
I think that the reason so many Brazilians seem pleased with Trump’s election is because they are very sensitive to the subject of corruption in government. They impeached their President earlier this year over a corruption scandal. While it was bad it did not appear to come even close to the level of corruption that the Clintons have been implicated in.
Of course, the election in the United States involved the two main political platforms. They both have their own set of beliefs. The Republicans, for example, are opposed to abortion, favor cutting taxes and being more fiscally responsible, maintaining a strong military, securing our borders, and maintaining a strong friendship with Israel. There are others but these are the main planks of the Republican party. If you flip those things around, you pretty much have the Democratic platform.
Most Americans would identify, more or less, as being in one of those two camps. Of course, this is a generalization but the election results show a fairly even split in the popular vote. Was this election won or lost because of a particular ideology? I don’t think so. I actually think that Hillary would have probably won if not for the many scandals surrounding her.
I believe that Donald Trump won for two reasons. First of all, I think it had to do with character and integrity. I may be proven wrong, but I think many Democrats decided at the end that they could not, in good conscience vote for a person like Hillary Clinton. Maybe they stayed home on Election Day and did not vote at all, maybe they voted third-party, or maybe, they even voted for Trump.
Now I realize that Trump has some character issues of his own. When the smoke clears, however, we have a man who has apologized for many of his mistakes. In other cases, we have some fabricated stories, created to make him look bad. Thankfully, none of those got any traction. Trump has never claimed to be a Christian but he has, on multiple occasions, asked Christians to pray for him. I think that the perception of Trump is that he has a better character and more integrity than Hillary Clinton.
Clinton has been documented lying over and over again during her entire public career. The scandals that surround the Clintons continue to unfold as her “deleted” emails are made public. Her husband, Bill, has a history of sexual assaults and adulterous relationships, even while he was the President of the United States. Hillary, in many cases publicly slandered the women who accused her husband of sexually assaulting them. In at least one case, however, the Clintons paid one victim almost a million dollars to settle a sexual harassment case.
The perception of Hillary as a criminal, or at the very least, a corrupt politician seems to be strong. No matter where America is at culturally, morally, or spiritually, we are still a nation of laws. The idea of someone getting away with a crime does not set well with most people. It is amazing to me that so many people continue to support Hillary in spite of the corruption. Again, I may be proven wrong but I believe that the perception of Hillary being a crook just does not set well with many people. Is she above the law or should she be held accountable for her actions?
The second reason that I believe Trump won was because he is an outsider. I have heard people say for years, “We need an outsider to run for President. We need someone who is not in the pocket of Wall Street or special interest groups. We need someone who is not a professional politician.” Well, America, here he is.
Part of the reason that many people have been opposed to Trump is because of some of the things that he has said. He is not politically correct because he is not a professional politician. He does not talk like a politician. He says what he thinks. This can be offensive for some people and encouraging for others but he is definitely entertaining!
I have found it fascinating that the Democrats hate Trump, ISIS terrorists hates Trump, and even some of the Republicans hate Trump. He was the Republican nominee and won the Presidency as a Republican. Why would so many in his own party hate him? Simple. He is an outsider. He does not owe anyone any favors. He is not in anyone’s pocket.
It seems like many Americans are tired of the career politicians who do a great job of getting rich but don’t really accomplish much else. And it is not just Americans who feel this way. In Brazil, a millionaire businessman just won the seat of Mayor in São Paulo. He was an outsider with no experience in politics. He took fifty-three percent of the vote in his first political run. São Paulo is Brazil’s biggest city with almost nine million people.
There are probably many other factors that influenced this election in the United States. I think that these are two of the biggest. Why do you think that Donald Trump got elected? Or to phrase it another way, why do you think Hillary Clinton lost? I would love to know what you think!
Annie and I are serving the Lord in Brazil. We are helping plant churches and train leaders. Would you consider becoming a part of our team? Together we can have such an impact! Just click here to get involved. Obrigado!
