WarSclerotic

Preparations for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, which will take place on Jan. 20 in Washington, D.C., were already underway in earnest Wednesday morning.

Tuesday night, however, was a once-in-a-lifetime-night.

It was a night against all odds, against all prognostications, a night that ended nothing like it began. It was a night that will be remembered a thousand years from now.

Who would have believed that just one week ago The New York Times gave Donald Trump just a 5% chance of winning the election! What The New York Times and the rest of the global media didn’t understand is that Trump wasn’t a normal candidate, who can be analyzed with strange, perhaps even tendentious polls, rather a phenomenon: a once-in-a-generation candidate. We were told that only racists, misogynists, deplorables and the uneducated support Trump. Yet here we are, over 40% of voters with a college degree supported him. He received more support from whites without college degrees than any other Republican candidate since pollsters began measuring that statistic in 1972.

America experienced a new type of candidate: A celebrity billionaire who somehow touched the hearts of people across the country, people who are proud of old-fashion values such as “American exceptionalism.” Trump understood that there are millions of Americans who would rather work instead of receiving food stamps, which is the case for over 40 million Americans. From the penthouse atop his tower, Trump was able to sense the immense frustration felt by millions, those forgotten in the Rust Belt, in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania, who decided to remind the world, and the Democratic Party, that they exist. Similar to the national referendum in Great Britain over membership in the European Union (Brexit), this time, too, the periphery reminded the elites that it exists. Or as Trump predicted: “It’s Brexit times 10.”

‘Congratulations’ in Hebrew

It really was Brexit times 10 — at least it felt that way from the Hilton Midtown hotel, where Trump’s supporters and aides had gathered. At around two in the morning, accompanied by his family, Trump appeared on stage. “Trump, Trump!” the crowd yelled in unison. The weight of the responsibility was visible on his face. Trump understood very quickly that he was receiving the most important job in the world. A moment before he began his speech, someone shouted at him in Hebrew, “Mazal tov” (congratulations), to which he responded with a “Todah” (thanks).

“I want to tell the world community that while we will always put America’s interests first, we will deal fairly with everyone, with everyone — all people and all other nations. We will seek common ground, not hostility; partnership, not conflict,” he said, adding that he would make all Americans proud. He commended Hillary Clinton for her “very, very hard-fought campaign.”

“Hillary has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time, and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country,” Trump said. “Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division; have to get together. To all Republicans and Democrats and independents across this nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people.

Who would have believed? On Feb. 25, New York Congressman Chris Collins was the first delegate to publicly endorse Trump’s candidacy. At the time they thought he was crazy, that it was impossible.

Wednesday evening also began that way. The atmosphere and the prognostications weren’t particularly optimistic, partially because media claims that Georgia and South Carolina were “too early to call,” despite the fact that both states are unequivocally Republican. Then, however, it emerged that Hillary’s stronghold, Virginia, which voted twice for Obama, could slip from her grasp. Both camps chewed their fingernails while Trump’s campaign headquarters also received unconfirmed reports that the key states were falling to Clinton.

The fall of the blue wall

At some point during the night, though, Clinton’s “blue-light blue wall” was breached. While she was ultimately able to keep Virginia, in other swing states Trump was racking up victory after victory: in North Carolina, Ohio, Florida. If that wasn’t enough, his strides in Michigan prevented Clinton from winning that state, which had voted Democrat since 1988. ‭

And then came Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Before the elections Trump was ridiculed for campaigning in states that hadn’t voted Republican for nearly 30 years. Wisconsin hadn’t voted Republican since 1984. But the results proved he was right to expand his reach.

And Pennsylvania? At this point it felt as if time was standing still. When it became clear that Pennsylvania was almost his and was the only thing separating him from the White House, the crowd grew restless. “Call it, call it,” shouted the people in the red hats, demanding confirmation that Trump would be the next president of the United States. One after the other, the various channels and news agencies, such as The Associated Press, declared Pennsylvania red.

According to Fox News, which at that point was the only outlet saying Trump had won Wisconsin, a win in Pennsylvania meant that Trump had crossed the required threshold of 270 electoral votes. The network, however, wanted to make sure Pennsylvania was in fact his.

These were nerve-wracking moments. On the giant screens the crowd watched the developments unfold in the neighboring convention hall, not so far away, where the Democrats and Clinton’s campaign manager, John Podesta, were saying the race was close and a winner could still not be declared.

Even Wisconsin

And then came the wonderful moment when every network declared Trump the winner. That was that, Pennsylvania gave him the victory.

Pennsylvania, it has been noted, is also known as the Keystone State, aptly so apparently, and not just because the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were written there. Indeed, one gentleman standing beside me, named John, told me in a southern drawl: “This is our second revolution, today. A democratic revolution, with a Republican victory.”

During his speech, Trump hushed the audience, which had begun attacking Hillary Clinton, the detested candidate who was now a respected adversary — and this, too, is the beauty of the strong American democracy. Trump spoke about the millions who had been forgotten, those living in the Rust Belt who fell on hard times in the wake of “bad deals” that hurt Western and Midwestern states.

It was the Democrats who had pulled away from the people. “And this is exactly why it took us so long to get results from Michigan and Detroit, where so many African-Americans live,” Helen explained to me, holding a sign saying “Women for Trump.” The Democrats didn’t understand that the Obama coalition had collapsed because Trump began speaking at eye level with disappointed middle class voters.

At the entrance to the hall, a bust of Donald Trump looked straight at me. It was so uncanny that I didn’t even realize it was actually a cake.

But that was nothing, because Trump’s victory cake was kosher! It’s not a surprise, because Melissa, the chef who made it, is Jewish, as were many others in the crowd. Two of them, Jacob and Ben, didn’t stop cheering the entire night. Two young Jews from New York. “We are so happy he won,” Jacob said. “This isn’t just good for America; it’s also excellent for Israel. Here in New York we know a lot of people from temple who know him [Trump] or have worked with him. He’s a good man. And he loves Israel in a real way. He prefers us because he says Jews are a people who like to work hard.

“We now have a president who appreciates work, and this is exactly what America needs,” Ben told me. “You’ll see the work that will be done here. You’ll see how he makes America successful again.”

Donald Trump on Wednesday joined the line of presidents who never thought they’d ever reach the White House — impossible candidates such as the peanut farmer from Georgia, Jimmy Carter; the mediocre actor, Ronald Reagan; and the simple man from Missouri, Harry Truman. They are now joined by the celebrity and reality television show host from New York, Donald Trump.

Revenge on Obama

On my way out, amid all the police vehicles, fire trucks and ambulances that had blocked the hotel area, I again came across that cake. One after another, the police officers asked to take a picture with the cake, some of them placing their police hats on “Trump’s” head. They were followed by Trump’s supporters. Apropos hats: There were enough red hats in the convention hall for every mistaken pundit and journalist to eat.

I could only think: What sweet revenge for Trump! Three or four years ago he was humiliated by Obama at a party. Now he will sleep in his bed in the White House.