Trump Reached The Forgotten

Large-cap indices opened down big -- as the consensus unsteadily reformed around a Donald Trump U.S. presidency. There are worries, but frankly the stock market sell-off only took us back to the S&P 500 2100 level we saw 2 days ago.

This was a nail biter of an election. It saw huge turnout from the bases of both parties. When I checked in this morning, Donald Trump had won 276 Electoral College votes (270 is needed to win). Trump had a very small 100,000-vote or so loss in the popular vote, with 59.076 million for Clinton and 58.941 million for Trump.

In 2008 and 2012, the USA elected a black leader for the first time and re-elected a black leader. This time around, in 2016, the white, less-educated men across the USA -- mostly in the mid-section of the country -- cried out, and hit the polls in record numbers.

Step back and reflect on that. This is an election result to be proud of. We are, as an inclusive democracy, looking out for different underserved segments of the entire population, in sequence.

This result disappointed the Democrats. But it wasn’t a win for Republicans.

It was a win in the words of Donald Trump, “For the forgotten who will no longer be forgotten anymore.”

I see that.

This is well past the time to look after the interests of the huge, less dense, mid-section of the country, and its 1000s of small towns. Their huge turnout tells you they have been suffering and totally overlooked.

So does the U.S. macro data, when looked at in relative terms vis-à-vis urban and coastal areas of this nation.

I have been to the Getty Villa in Malibu a few times and really love the place. It’s an accurate restoration of a Roman Villa. On one of my recent visits, I picked up a translation of a book by Marcus Tullius Cicero, the great Roman consul. The book was titled “How to Run a Country.”

However, I noted there was a sister book I didn’t know about. It was called “How to Win an Election.”

Donald Trump showed a remarkable way to win a U.S. election, by appealing to a huge forgotten group of voters. I truly applaud him for that. Now, I hope he runs the country in a way that is different than all the incendiary rhetoric he applied to win the election.

As Trump is a tremendous showman, I have the expectation that part of my Trump hope will be realized. What I worry about is how much and how soon Trump learns to govern the entirety of this country. He is not a provincial guy, by any stretch of the imagination.

I grew up in Grand Forks, North Dakota. This U.S. presidency is for those I left behind at 18 years of age, when I attended school at Northwestern University in Chicago. I have not forgotten North Dakota, and really love the affable clan of folks up there, and in tons of places like it across the map. Vice President Pence from Indiana is truly their guy; and a fine, steady and deeply experienced servant of government.

When you come into my apartment in Marina Del Rey, CA you will see antique prints, engravings and oil paintings from across the USA and the world. I am who I am now, 30 years later. I am grateful to Northwestern for opening so many doors to the world for me. Literally, it opened actual doors to the world for me.

But behind the front closet door -- where you put your coat -- you will see a huge 2-foot photo of my 5 good buddies and me at 18 year of age – celebrating with the 3rd place trophy we won at the North Dakota state ice hockey championship in 1988 -- earlier in the same year I moved to Chicago.

I was a co-captain.

Let’s give this presidency our sincere and wholehearted support, on the grounds that Trump won by reaching the forgotten.