Donald Trump is a dangerous man and his return to the White House is a perilous moment. His first term showed that he is unpredictable, divisive and cruel.
He cut taxes for the super-wealthy and introduced inhumane immigration policies. The US Government was shut down because he demanded money to fund the border wall and his foreign policy was a disaster.
He made rash decisions and his instinct was to attack minorities and play the race card. He was well beaten in 2020, finishing seven million votes behind Joe Biden. But despite the clear margin, he tried to overturn the election and is currently involved in four criminal cases.
Trump is an election denier who promoted the Big Lie that the 2020 election had been stolen through rigged voting machines and voter fraud.
He tried to get Vice President Mike Pence to refuse to certify the result and whipped up a violent mob that attacked the Capitol.
This is not a man who should be in charge of the world’s largest economy and the only remaining superpower. He threatens to have a similar impact on world politics again and his victory comes at an even worse time.
The war in Ukraine is at a crucial stage and conflict continues to flare up in the Middle East. He may sell the Ukrainians down the river and his actions will not help the war between Israel and Hamas.
Those who are at most to blame are those in the Republican Party who disagree with him but back him anyway. Senior Republicans rightly slammed Trump after the horrors of January 6 and it seemed his political career was over.
But these same folk turned a blind eye when it came to the presidential election and they shamelessly backed him again. If those hypocritical politicians had more of a backbone, we may not be in this dire situation today.
Even worse, it looks like the Republicans will control Congress and Trump will have the leeway to pursue his destructive agenda.
He will push for more tax cuts for the rich, implement cruel immigration policies and maybe even impose 20 per cent tariffs on foreign goods.
Scotland is not blameless for the rise of this demagogue. Politicians who should have known better fawned over him when he wanted to build golf courses in Scotland.
Instead of shunning him, these same people helped legitimise a bully. Trump is an unstable autocrat and the next four years will see many flashpoints.
The world must be vigilant and unite to stop him from wreaking havoc.
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