How surprising was Donald Trump’s U.S. election victory?
Peter McKenna is a political science professor at the University of PEI, and says he didn’t expect Trump to run away with the race over Vice-President Kamala Harris.
“I think I would have liked to have seen a woman of colour be the first female U.S. president, it would have been an important moment for that nation. But the people are never wrong, and they decided to go in another direction,” said McKenna.
McKenna says President Joe Biden’s record on Hamas and the war in Israel may have hurt the Democrats, and Harris’ disciplined campaign didn’t offer many new ideas on things like the economy.
He says Trump ran an awful campaign, but it doesn’t matter to those who support him.
“It confirmed to me once again what Trump has said all along, that he could go in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and people will still vote for him. That’s how loyal his supporters are.”
He says Harris absolutely had to win the swing-state of Pennsylvania, and wondered if she should have chosen the governor of that state Josh Shapiro as her running mate.
McKenna says the result could be bad for Canada, as universal tariffs would harm our economy.
He says Trump will also push Canada to increase defence spending, and the Canada-U.S.-Mexico free-trade agreement needs to be renegotiated in 2026.
