America and the whole world went from this surprise to the other surprise when the millionaire Donald Trump decided to run for President last June 2015, and won the support of the Republic Party one year later, in July 2016, and became the new 45th President of the United States on last November 8th, completely contrary to all expectations and opinion polls. To decipher what is being called "The Donald Trump phenomenon," Reporter of USIS Group has enlisted Professor Augustine Ha Ton Vinh, member of the Republic Party for over 30 years who was involved in election campaigning for many senators and congressman of Virginia State, and President Ronald Reagan and George Bush, will help us to explain this phenomenon.
Brief biography of Professor Ha Ton Vinh:
Professor Vinh studied Graduate School of Foreign Affairs and Economic Development at the General University of Georgetown, Washington Capitals, D.C., the United States (1976-1978) and achieved the scholarship of the US Federal Government to continue studying Ph.D. program specialized in Public Administration at the General Catholic University of America (1981-1983). Prof. Vinh was nominated as a special assistant of the White House by many Senators, United States Congressman and US politicians in the first term of President Reagan - Vice President Bush. Prof. Vinh is a US citizen who has visited more than 70 countries.
Prof. Vinh has over 30 years of experiences in working in the Asia Pacific region, Europe, and West Africa in the field of economic strategy development; management, reformation and corporate merger; bilateral and multilateral project finance; finance and banking, etc. In many years, Prof. Vinh was Senior Consultant in the field of Infrastructure Finance for several projects of the World Bank (WB) in many Asian countries such as China, the Philippines, Mongolia, Vietnam, Laos; Energy Finance Specialist of the Asian Development Bank (ADB); and Advisor in the field of strategic development and cooperation, restructuring and reorganization of enterprise for many multinational economic groups in Asia Pacific Region.
The following are the analysis of Professor Ha Ton Vinh Augustine:
Right after the Millionaire Donald Trump was elected as President of the United States last November 8th, many friends in the country and abroad called and gave messages to congratulate me for supporting or participating in the election campaign for the candidate Donald Trump. Almost all were surprised by the result of this Presidential election and asked me to help explain the reason and tell them about the future of the US under the age of Mr Trump.
As a person who has lived in the US for over 40 years and has been involved in many election campaigns for presidential candidates, Senators and Republican congressmen, I was not surprised to see the result of this election.
Mr. Trump when deciding to become a candidate in the election gave a number of action programs and arguments that met the expectations and aspirations of the majority of silent American people, some examples:
1. Firstly, the "slogan" of the election campaign of Mr. Trump "Make America Great Again" (Make America strong again) had stirred up ethnic pride of the United States. In the past, the United States was always the leader of the free world in many aspects: economic, finance, military, technology, education, human rights, etc. In the 8 years under President Obama, the rise of many market economies in Europe, Asia and economic power, military strength, plus the aggression of China in the South China Sea had become a challenge and obsession for the global position of the United States. This slogan was very easy to understand and correctly hit into the subconscious and narcissism of American people. This is probably the best marketing lesson so far that I have known.
2. Although the US economy remains stable, the American people have seen clearly that the factories and their jobs gradually have been transferred abroad. The cheap goods from China and other countries have flooded the US market, which has made the jobs become scarce and wage is increasingly low. Although the Bilateral and Multilateral Trade Agreements have helped open the markets of the member countries for the US products, it is also an opportunity for the foreign products to enter into the United States, which leads to the fact that many domestic companies cannot compete with the product price of the member countries in the agreements, and leads to the bankruptcy of many local enterprises that do not have the opportunity to switch.
Prof. Ha Ton Vinh with Mr. Donald Trump in New York.
3. Many American people do not like and do not agree that the Government is using their tax money to feed, assist, or serve illegal immigrants, particularly from Mexico. For many years, Mexican have waded the river and streams to the United States, then they are granted amnesty or legalized, take their whole family and relatives to the United States to enjoy many types of benefits that many American do not have or are permitted to use. In addition, the number of cannabis drugs from South American countries going through Mexico and then taken to the United States is a huge number, which entails many implications and costs.
4. They do not like that the national budget is used to protect the territory or the security of many other allied countries in the alliances such as NATO, ANZUS, with Japan, Korea, the Middle East countries, etc. especially when these countries do not contribute their financial obligations fully. The construction of a wall between Mexico and the United States or a threat to withdraw from the defense agreement has hit correctly the psychology of many white American people in many localities throughout the country.
5. The United States is multiracial, multiethnic, joined hands to contribute and build by many people from all over the world. But when a group of people, a certain ethnicity participates in terrorist activities, such as the Twin Towers building event in New York on September 11th, 2001, made the US insecure and threatened, the candidate launched an action plan that is violent and seems discrimination is also understandable and easy to get voters' hearts. The massacres throughout the United States, France, England, etc. are related to extreme religious color or terrorism.
6. American people are also very generous and fair, willing to defend the weak, the oppressed. When the US newspapers, media join hands to overwhelm Mr. Trump, expressed disdain attitude and showed partiality to Mrs. Hillary Clinton blatant and outrageous, the silent majority had responded with a single tool that they had in hand, it was their vote. US media, when not understanding the American public sentiment, had taken free-for-all fight to Mr. Trump, invisibly became the benefactor of Mr. Trump.
Author Donald Trump signing and giving book to Prof. Ha Ton Vinh
7. The United States is also very realistic. The benefits of them and their nation are paramount. Mr. Trump’s strong or vulgar words could be understood or ignored if the people saw Mr. Trump’s action programs being able to make their lives better and the nation position more stable. American often say "Whatever happens behind closed doors is nobody's business”. The former erotic stories of brothers of President John F. Kennedy or Bill Clinton also came and went; nobody bothered or even remembered it.
8. The statistics, forecasts, and especially the kind of opinion polls, voter survey were completely out of reality and did not reflect the fact that the researchers often surveyed and met only more than 1,000 people, while the Presidential elections, as in 2016, there were more than 115 million people going to vote, by 0.0009%. Such representation calculation is zero and almost worthless. Newspapers and media agencies have learned a lesson that Southerners often humorously said, "What we see is not actual nature... but worse."
9. In the elections taken place for last 40 years, I saw the candidates of two Republican Party and Democracy Party speaking badly to each other normal. After the election the two candidates praised each other, met and cooperated normally. President George H.W. Bush after losing the candidate Bill Clinton had called on people to support his opponent. Mr. Clinton invited Mr. Bush to be the special envoy of the President, etc. Mr. Trump and Ms. Clinton are not different. They thanked, congratulated each other as two close friends. Two days after his victory, President Obama also invited Mr. Trump to the White House to discuss and talk about the transfer of power. It is the cultural characteristic of American people that the Asian people cannot understand.
10. In the first two years, President Donald Trump will certainly force uninterrupted attention on the promise as a candidate: to revive the economy and make America strong again. American people have full right to hope that their new President can do the things set out in the election campaign, especially when the US Senate and House are under the control of the Republican Party.
At this moment, I recall the song that my mother taught me English, I would like to give it to all of you:
"Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be. The future's not ours to see. Que sera, sera. What will be, will be."
No one knows what the future will be like. What will be, will be.
Professor Augustine Ha Ton Vinh
