Trump: Year One flies right past as world remembers craziest election night of all time
Do you remember where you were this time last year? Cameron Stewart writes in The Australian, November 9 last year:
US president-elect Donald Trump has vowed to reclaim the American dream, after pulling off one of the most extraordinary election upsets in political history. The victory, which came after a series of sweeping triumphs in swing states across the country, stunned his rival, Hillary Clinton, and the Democratic Party, and recast politics in Washington.
Everybody got it oh so wrong. Paul McGeough in The Sydney Morning Herald, November 8 last year:
On Wednesday, Americans will awake from a nightmare. Donald Trump will not be their president.
Absolutely everybody. ABC Insiders host Barrie Cassidy tweets on November 8 last year:
Trump cannot win. The nightmare is over.
Even this august organ got a bit of a shock, to be quite honest. The Australian’s foreign editor, Greg Sheridan, writes on November 8 last year:
You can take it to the bank — the American election is effectively all over, Hillary Clinton has won.
Our Greg, of course, ’fessed up because he’s a class act. The Australian, November 9 last year:
Boy, did I get that wrong! Along with a million or so other pundits, I messed up my election forecasts for two reasons. One was the data … The other was sentiment. I couldn’t believe that Americans would vote for Trump. I was wrong. Mea culpa.
But a lot of the media still don’t get why Trump won. Janet Albrechtsen in The Australian, July 19:
The constant blather about Trump’s style and character, whether it’s in the media or at dinner parties, is propelling too many people into intergalactic irrelevance. And in space no one can hear you scream. The genius of Trump is how he manipulates fools in the media to his own ends.
And Hillary Clinton is still totally clueless. Last year’s Democratic Party candidate on ABC’s Four Corners, October 17:
Sarah Ferguson: You called (Trump supporters) the “basket of deplorables”. That had serious consequences, didn’t it?
Clinton: … I don’t think it did …
Not a single clue. Unbelievable. The Australian, November 9 last year:
The size of the swing to Mr Trump became clear in early results when he took Ohio and then the most important battleground state, Florida … The real surprise was his victory in the Great Lakes Democratic strongholds of Wisconsin and Michigan.
To be fair, Trump has been mental. The Japan Times on Monday:
Trump has said Japan should have shot down the North Korean missiles (which flew over Japan this year) … (Trump) said he could not understand why a country of samurai warriors did not shoot down the missiles …
We’re so tired. CNN online, yesterday:
Trump’s approval rating stands at its lowest point … as concerns about contacts between Trump’s presidential campaign and Russian operatives have grown sharply …
But be wary of pundits who say Trump is finished. They’ve been wrong before. Albrechtsen in The Australian, continued:
Normal programming cannot resume until the media starts reporting news and offering considered analysis rather than trying to get even …