Trump election, vote against corrupt US establishment: Analyst

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has defeated his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the November 8 presidential election. Trump’s victory has sparked protests across the United States, drawing crowds to city streets and college campuses.

Press TV has spoken to James Jatras, a former US Senate foreign policy analyst, as well as Brian Becker, a member of the ANSWER Coalition, to discuss the election of Trump as the United States’ next president.

Jatras believes the people who voted for Donald Trump were against a big corrupt establishment in Washington.

“I think it was a vote against Hillary [Clinton] especially given how corrupt and criminal her activities have been but also a vote against [President Barack] Obama, but let’s not forget also a vote against the Republican establishment, a lot of which either repudiated Trump or only grudgingly sort of half endorsed him and now is stuck with carrying out his agenda,” he said.

He also noted the old core of the industrial working class of the United States feels the waste of trillions of dollars in wars by the investor and donor class has undermined their “economic security.” 

The analyst further mentioned that every administration in the United States faces a problem which is called the “deep state,” adding that it is very hard to change it by “political control.”

He also argued the big problem for Donald Trump would be how he staffs his administration because it is the personnel who will advise him on setting the policies.

“I think there will be change on border control, immigration, and trade. What happens on the questions of war and peace will be a fight but I think the number one thing is his willingness to get along with Russia. I would say just by defeating Hillary Clinton the chance of a World War III has gone about 75 percent to under 5 percent,” he stated. 

The analyst concluded by saying that a personal and business-like approach will prevail but there are a lot of blanks to be filled in.

Meanwhile, the other panelist on Press TV’s program, Brian Becker mentioned the people who voted for Trump were just “sick and tired” of the Washington establishment and of Wall Street elites.

“Donald Trump as a showman went to bat against the Clinton campaign as the embodiment of the Wall Street-Washington establishment and so this was a referendum against the establishment,” he stated. 

However, he said, it is an irony because Trump is a friend of the elites, of the Wall Street bankers, and actually of the Clintons.

The analyst further asserted that the Pentagon constitutes an “inordinate power” within the United States and it has been a “dominant voice” in the country. 

He also argued if Trump tries to “curry favor” with the hard liners in the Pentagon, it would in fact “shift” his position.

According to the analyst, the “heated up rhetoric”, “demagogy,” and “hyperbole” that Trump has used during his campaign may not exactly emerge as policies  when he takes office.

Trump stunned the world by defeating heavily favored Clinton, sending the United States on a new, uncertain path.

During the divisive campaign, Trump was the target of sharp disapproval, not just from Democrats but from many in his own party.

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