Surprise at Donald Trump's victory is because expectations were managed by liberal media - Yorkshire Post Letters

From: John Riseley, Harcourt Drive, Harrogate.

The surprise win for Donald Trump has brought forth strong reactions on both sides of the Atlantic. I say ‘surprise’ because I and many others will have had our expectations managed through the prism of the liberal media.

I admit to being amused by the report (accurate or otherwise) that staff of the Guardian newspaper have needed counselling to come to terms with the result. My own view is that affiliations on this matter are very substantially a fashion statement: an expression of identification with one social and cultural group or another, not far removed from the preference between acoustic and electric guitar or motorbike and scooter and hardly more meaningful.

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Most of those who are celebrities courtesy of the entertainment industry have lined up, as is necessary for their brand image, with the ‘nice’ party against the ‘nasty’ one. This corresponds to the party of the downtrodden versus the rich. Odd then, that the Democrats were able to outspend the Republicans on advertising by a wide margin (and still manage to lose).

Donald Trump speaks during an election night event at the West Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. PIC: JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty ImagesDonald Trump speaks during an election night event at the West Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. PIC: JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images
Donald Trump speaks during an election night event at the West Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. PIC: JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

Joe Biden sensibly urges Americans to ‘bring down the temperature’, while Kamala Harris tells them to keep fighting.

The most conspicuous issue of clear policy divide has been mass immigration. As the Democrats look to point the finger of blame for defeat, it would be far-fetched to suggest they could have tried to match the Republicans in toughness in this matter. But why is that so? Where is the pro-immigration lobby coming from? Is it their assumption that the nativists are such bad people they should be given a slap in the face just for the sake of it? In that case, little wonder if the country is torn apart.

David Behrens (Yorkshire Post, 9 November) is so angry about the Trump win, he smugly impugns the intelligence of most American voters, even relative to our own. This for a country which can discern policy issues from personal foibles or showmanship, however colourful. Here we are prepared to relegate future leadership and resulting policy direction as secondary to the consumption of a slice of cake.

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Jayne Dowle (Yorkshire Post, 9 November) blames Trump and Vance for the anxiety of her daughter who can doubt whether women in America will still be allowed to have jobs or use contraception. But surely the fault lies rather with the hysteria the Harris campaign sought to generate. They failed with 44 per cent of American women, if not in some UK university dorms.

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