Well, I didn’t expect that. America, I honestly thought better of you.
I have never had any interest in politics by any means, but Donald Trump is different.
I was in South America for a few months earlier this year and met many Americans along the way. We surfed together, partied in hostels, howled at the moon and had a fucking fantastic time doing it.
I met many highly educated expats. Teachers, surgeons, business owners. People with a grasp on the world around them, in the exclusive club of the meagre 36 per cent of Americans that actually own a passport.
Trump had been building momentum for some time before my trip, and being Australian, I thought it was absolutely bizarre that the dude from The Apprentice could potentially even run for president.
I asked them what they thought of him.
The reactions were generally the same. They always began with a sheepish embarrassed shutdown. “Oh, he’s nothing, he doesn’t have the experience, there are so many others,” etc.
I talked to them about how he’d come so far to even get into the conversation, how he’d been getting flogged in the media, and how he’d have to run out of steam soon.
And they said, “We’ve been saying that for a long time now.”
Anyway, that guy will now be the 45th President of the United States.
That proven racist, misogynist liar is now the leader of the free world.
There you go. I guess my small case study doesn’t represent the entire American contingent.
Walking through the city yesterday, it felt like everyone’s dog had just died. It was grey, rainy and sombre. Completely flat and void of life, like a town filled with mannequins.
We’re a long way from the US, but it felt like this election went down in our own backyard.
I jumped on a bus heading to work in the afternoon and sat down next to a woman with an American flag in her handbag. Her name was Alex. I asked her if she’d heard the election result and she said she hadn’t.
I told her Hillary couldn’t catch him. There simply weren’t enough points on the board.
She was visibly upset. A text message flashed on her phone that said “Are you OK Alex?”
She got off the bus and shoved her flag deep into her handbag. Almost embarrassed to have it in her hands.
It was clear that this meant quite a lot to her.
I heard $35 billion disappeared off the Australian stock market yesterday. That’s pretty gnarly.
I had one of those sleeps last night where you see the clock every hour for the duration for the night. Kinda weird.
I walked into my local newsagent this morning and the Financial Review was sold out by 8 o’clock. Haven’t seen that before.
The collective world media is losing it’s mind right now. And with good reason.
Obama spoke at the White House this morning and said the sun would come up today, and it did. It takes a long time for things to go wild, and we’ll see what happens. The establishment needs a good shake up every once in a while, and if 2016 is anything to go by, the people are screaming loud and clear.
Seriously though, 318 million Americans, and you picked this guy? – Jackson Barron
Photo of Donald Trump from his Facebook account.
About the author
Jackson Barron is a full time surf frother, golf geek and tennis tragic. He wears red and green with pride for his beloved South Sydney Rabbitohs and pretends he knows the rules when sitting in the crowd at the Swans games. Loves a beer and a coffee, as long as they're frothy, and should probably get a hair cut.
