Mick Clifford: Donald Trump's crimes and lies simply didn't matter

Now that he has power, there will be a sense of trepidation in some quarters as to how Donald Trump intends to use it, writes Mick Clifford

In keeping with his consistently expressed contempt for Kamala Harris, Donald Trump did not mention her once in his victory speech. Photo: AP/Lynne Sladky

America has opted for Donald Trump and all he represents to lead the country. His victory in the presidential election was decisive and swift.

In a decision that is far more consequential than it was when he won in 2016, large swathes of the electorate in key swing states have decided that he is the future. His electoral platform to usher in a “golden age” for the American economy, halt illegal immigration of those he described as “animals” and “savages”, and end all foreign wars, resonated with crucial undecided voters.

“This will truly be the golden age for America,” he said at his victory rally in Florida. Much of his triumph is attributable to the quality of his opponent and the circumstances of her candidacy. 

Kamala Harris was thrust late into the race with the withdrawal of Joe Biden last June.  She was, in effect, the only alternative candidate at the time, particularly as anybody else would have not had access to the burgeoning financial war chest that had been raised by Biden. 

However, she did not resonate with voters who were willing to listen to her pitch. Polls consistently showed that too many Americans felt they didn’t know her, while they knew exactly who Trump was. 

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She was vague when certainty was required.  She had difficulty separating herself from the — totally unfair — perception that Biden had mismanaged the economy. 

For some, she morphed into the anti-Trump candidate which, allied to her less-than-inspiring political persona, was never going to be enough to persuade voters to invest in her.  Arguably, her gender was also a factor in a country that has yet to elect a female president.

In keeping with his consistently expressed contempt for Ms Harris, Trump did not mention her once in his victory speech. His achievement is nothing less than phenomenal, albeit extremely worrying for what it says about the decline of democratic norms. 

He can now take his place as one of the most consequential public figures in the last century, if not further back. He has ignored, overcome, or subverted most of the tenets that underpinned the USA as the leading liberal democracy of longest standing.

As president the last time around, he was impeached twice, an unprecedented record. Four years ago, he refused to accept the result of free and fair elections, prompting an attack on the seat of government that resulted in death and destruction. 

People at Muldoon's Irish Pub in Newport Beach, California, celebrate Donald Trump's presidential victory. In a decision that is far more consequential than it was when he won in 2016, large swathes of the electorate in key swing states have decided that he is the future. Photo: Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images

He has said that he will seriously consider pardoning those who have been convicted of criminal offences related to what has come to be known as January 6. The lies he propagated about the 2020 election spread through his followers to become an article of faith. 

As a result there was serious fear that violence could follow this election if Trump had not succeeded. That does not now arise. 

There will be nothing about so-called election fraud from Trump or his supporters as the correct result has been achieved, as far as they are concerned. This spectre of potential political violence as a resource in an election is not unknown in the developing world but largely alien in the West, before Trump’s ascension.

Trump is a convicted felon. On November 26, he is due to be sentenced for violation of rules around political funds. That now appears academic. 

Three other scheduled trials for serious criminal offences will not now go ahead. Through his election, Trump has subverted the very basis of which everybody is nominally equal before the law.

A whole raft of senior political and military figures who worked with him when he was last president have described him as wholly unfit for the office. One, John Kelly, who acted as Trump’s chief of staff, said that he fits the description of a fascist. 

Donald Trump supporters at the Palm Beach Convention Center on Wednesday. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Major figures in the Republican party, from former vice president Dick Cheney down, have stated that Trump is such a danger they voted for the first time ever for a Democratic candidate. None of it mattered. 

Donald Trump, with a mixed record in business and none in politics, has managed to effectively take over the party. Criticism of his personal conduct did not impact his electability. 

He constantly lies and makes statements that have no basis in fact, most famously in the debate with Harris where he said illegal immigrants in Ohio were eating cats and dogs. 

He has been found liable in a civil court for sexual assault and is the subject of over a dozen other allegations in a similar vein.

Any one of the above crimes, misdemeanors and personal flaws would in the past have ended the prospects for a presidential candidate. Trump sailed past it all and has been raised to a messianic status among some followers. 

After the assassination attempt he was subject to last July, he attributed his survival to divine intervention.

“Many people told me that God saved my life for a reason and that reason was to restore America to greatness,” he said.

When everything is taken into account, his election this time around is historic, an amazing comeback and represents one of the greatest personal achievements in electoral history.

Donald Trump, with a mixed record in business and none in politics, has managed to effectively take over the party. Photo: AP/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

Now that he has power, there will be a sense of trepidation in some quarters as to how he intends to use it. The imposition of economic tariffs was a key part of his platform and could reshape and damage global trade. 

He has repeatedly stated that he will effect mass deportations of illegal immigrants, although his previous big idea to build a wall between the USA and Mexico has been abandoned. 

Finally, there is what Trump described as “the enemy within”, interpreted as elements within politics and the media in particular. Trump has stated that he will go after and prosecute such enemies.

“This is a massive victory for freedom and democracy,” he said at the rally. 

Whatever else it is, there are many who believe that is one of the biggest lies he has issued in this election season.