I, as many other Americans, woke up yesterday morning to a shocker. Donald Trump won the Presidency of the United States, in pretty convincing fashion. And in doing so, he beat Hillary Clinton, a woman who was striving to make her own history with not only becoming the first woman to serve as Commander-in-Chief but also to become the first former First Lady to do so.
Clinton seemed to have it in the bag. Poll after poll told us that victory was hers. But they lied. Donald Trump himself has said it time and time again on how the election was fixed. He also lied. Though Trump would never admit it, it seems like even he thought he was going to lose to Hillary and hence was getting his excuses in order. In the end, those excuses weren’t needed.
Hillary Clinton won the popular vote. The numbers are still coming in but she is already ahead of Trump by a full point. Hillary Clinton may end up beating Trump in the popular vote by more than a million votes. But the electoral votes are in favor of Trump. The United States Presidency along with the Senate and House are with the Republicans. What 2018 may do to change the composition of the Congress can only be speculated upon right now.
As Hillary Clinton bids adieu to her three decades in public life, calls for Michelle Obama to run in 2020 are already in the air. Many had actually lamented during the campaigns that it should have been Michelle Obama instead of Hillary Clinton running for the United States Presidency. Many of the committed supporters of Hillary Clinton were wary that some of her contentious past and numerous indiscretions may catch up with her. That is perhaps what happened. Millions of people, who would have never voted for Trump, eventually did because they saw Hillary Clinton as a part of the ruling elite and a gainer of the largesse that came at the cost of the economic growth and prosperity of ordinary Americans.
Michelle Obama is an orator par excellence. She is sophisticated yet humble, erudite yet not dismissive of the ignorant, she has an amazing fan following among men and women cutting across ethnicities and economic disparities. More importantly, she has no adverse history that will go against her. There are no questionable closets.
Had she run for the United States Presidency this year, anti-incumbency against her husband would have jeopardized her chances.
Come 2020, she could very well be the first woman president of the United States, breaking the highest glass ceiling and that would also make her the first Black woman president. That wouldn’t be just breaking but shattering the glass ceiling.
