General Chat

this is an interesting commentary and summing up ......

.... the writer is a long-time well-respected correspondent with CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp) who has spent years reporting from Washington, DC. Thanks to my daughter who forwarded the link to me.

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/world/neil-macdonald-trump-victory-1.3843090

I have to take issue with the ill educated comment......many people working in the jobs you described are highly educated people. They took boring jobs because they offered good wages and benefits granted. To say unions killed the country....seriously...all countries have some strong unions....Canada has the teachers union for crying out loud so strong and rich they can do whatever they want.....and they run your lottery UK.
People voted for Trump because they'd had enough end of...doesn't mean he's the best person for the job but it does mean people have had enough !!

Demographic evidence shows that Trump's hard core of support was among poorly educated white people. Plenty of articles about that this morning.

The most shocking statistic to me is that more people didn't vote at all than voted for Trump.

This victory, like Brexit, gives a new hope for a better future to those who backed it.

Sadly they will fall to earth with a huge bang when they come to realize all that glitters.....etc.

At least the US can vote for change after a few years

the UK voting system ain't that good - it is possible to find out who voted for whom - they put a number relating to the voter on the voting card - watch when you next vote

People in high positions do not always owe their status to being the best persons for their jobs on the basis of ability.

President Elect Trump is an example.

And just like remoaners the amoaners don't get it.....protest all you want but the votes been counted now wait for the next election ! When nearly half of voters didn't vote it truly says something.......by protesting and burning effigies they're abusing their freedom of speech rights.

thats education for ya. ;-) :-D,

"The single most serious illness infecting the body politic in the UK, or elsewhere, is the philosophy – if one can call it that – which says "Why bother voting. We can't change anything".

Sad but true Dermot....one day maybe they'll wake up vote and it might matter !

There have been marches against Trump already under - not my president.

California - reports say looking at Calexit:-0

http://www.businessinsider.com/calexit-explainer-california-plans-to-secede-2016-11

There's still a chance he'll be on trial soon, my US friends tell me.

Mrs Clinton got a real good 'trashing' on BBC TV last week.

Regarding the turnout, according to this link, the percentage who voted in 2012 was 58.6%
http://www.electproject.org/2012g

A different site says 54.87%
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/turnout.php

If that rate*has* fallen, perhaps a number of people decided they couldn't support either candidate?

Compare it to the UK General Elections in the last decade
2015 - 66.1%
2010 - 65.1%
2005 - 61.4%
http://www.ukpolitical.info/2010.htm

Yes, I believe something like 49.6 % didn't vote and in all honestly mostly because they liked neither person...sad because usually you can support someone enough to bother voting.

I'm a bit concerned about how the gun crazies will react when he doesn't keep his promises. They were threatening to storm the White House if Hillary won.

Dangerous times.

Again.....there are plenty of people with guns that support Hillary......it's always dangerous times in the US as far as guns go.

But it was Trump supporters who said they'd storm the White House armed, not Hillary's.

Well I'm sure some of her supporters would say the same thing too !!

I'm not. I haven't seen or heard them say so, and I think it would have been reported if they had made the same sort of threats at the Trumpers.

And I have seen and heard the Trumpers issue threats on the news, several times.