The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

The United States of America, the greatest democracy in the history of human civilization, currently had its democracy under siege by rabid Republican supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump. According to CNN – no friend of Trump, mind you – Wednesday, January 6, marked the first time since the War of 1812 when the British overran the U.S. Capitol in 1814, that the legislative chambers of Congress were overrun by hostile forces. Two-hundred and seven years later Congress would once again be invaded, but this time by Americans – thousands of irate Trump supporters. In their warped thinking, their acts of mob violence and intimidation in attempting to stop the ceremonial Electoral College vote count were their last ditch efforts at overturning the November 3, 2020 election results, that catapulted then Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden to victory.

Obviously, democracy prevailed over mob violence. President-elect Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr has been certified by Congress, with Vice President Mike Pence and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell both taking part in the process, leaving their future in the Republican Party in doubt after committing what many diehard Trump supporters view as an act of betrayal. As for Trump’s image in The Bahamas, many Bahamians wanted him gone, and are currently salivating over his election defeat. I was not one of them. Trump not being in the White House will not bode well for The Bahamas. I am convinced that in the coming years, God willing, anti-Trump Bahamians will eventually rue the day Trump lost the Presidential election.

Make no mistake about it, Trump, notwithstanding his penchant for committing boneheaded gaffes, like saying in September of 2019 that The Bahamas is full of very bad gangsters, was good for this country and the entire Caribbean. Bahamian Ambassador to the United States Sidney Collie’s 2017 claim that “Trump loves The Bahamas” should have offset the unfortunate gangster remarks. Before the convenient and suspicious arrival of COVID-19 in early 2020, the American economy was performing at historic levels, with record low unemployment numbers, even within the African American community. America’s unprecedented prosperity under Trump had trickled down to The Bahamas, to the extent that the year 2019 saw a record number of tourists, over seven million to be exact, vacationing here. Moreover, this overwhelming success in the tourism sector would lead to a prominent travel website awarding The Bahamas in 2018 with the Best Caribbean Destination and Best Caribbean Tourism Minister Awards.

COVID-19 threw a seemingly deliberate monkey wrench in the Trump camp’s plans at being re-elected. That, coupled with the race riots across the United States subsequent to the murder of George Floyd, was too much for Trump to overcome. Like the angry Trump demonstrators who overran Capitol Hill, I too was very saddened by the election results. But at the end of the day, we must abide by the results. Trump’s legal team has failed to provide sufficient proof of widespread election fraud. Biden won 306 or 51.4 percent of the electoral votes to Trump’s 232 or 47.9 percent. Despite all the chatter within the Trump campaign, that margin of victory is simply too much to overcome in the courts. The time has come for Trump supporters to accept the results and move on.

KEVIN EVANS

Freeport, Grand Bahama.

January 7, 2021.