When Donald Trump takes office on January 20, 2017, he will arguably present more unknowns than anyone who has ever been elected to lead the executive branch and serve as commander in chief of the United States military. He has no previous experience in government. His relationship to the Republican Party is complicated, his stated positions on any number of policy issues are extremely vague, and he has shown over the course of this election that he is unconstrained by many norms that every major-party nominee in my lifetime have accepted as a matter of course.
His most fervent supporters believe this makes him uniquely positioned to “Make America Great Again,” a message emblazoned on the red hats of his supporters early Wednesday as Trump took the stage to deliver his victory speech. “I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans,” he said, adding that he would reach out to Americans who opposed him for their advice and help. The speech was pitch-perfect––easily the classiest moment of his campaign.
Hopefully, Trump will surprise his detractors and behave better in the White House than he has in the 2016 campaign, his business career, and his personal life. For the sake of the nation and the world, I hope he rises to the occasion, and that he respects the civil liberties of every American regardless of their identity. In any project that benefits the nation while safeguarding civil rights and liberal norms, I wish him success.