First published on ProgressOnline

‘This is your captain speaking. The new president of in the United States is … Donald Trump’. News that the Barack Obama’s successor is the rightwing orange demigod is met with groans on my flight as I head as far away from last night’s new as is humanly possible. The realisation that there is nowhere you can fly out of the sphere of influence of the 45th occupant of the Oval Office feels horrifying. Watching the results creep in it is hard to suggest a feeling of shock, the final result – as with Brexit – was present in the early results in Michigan. As Sunderland had foretold the inevitable news that Britain had rejected the European Union, Florida confirmed US voters had voted to reject a neoliberal world order of free trade and outsourcing, political elites and mass movement of people providing cheap labour. But as with Brexit, it is not clear what they voted to replace it with. Will Trump bring about a new wave of protectionism and government spending? Will the billionaire TV host and former Democrat donor not surround himself with a like-minded inner circle? Is he really going to build a wall, kick out immigrants, ban Muslims and separate families? (more…)