Vantage Point Vignette
Comments and Commentary by Dr. Ron Daniels
Yes, elections have consequences. A major lesson to be learned from the stunning defeat of the Harris-Walz ticket is that anger, rage and outrage are human and understandable, but taken alone, they are not a strategy to defeat your adversary or to achieve victory. One can make the case that Donald J. Trump aka the Orange man aka Agent Orange won the crucial battleground state of Michigan by the margin of disaffected Arab Americans and pro-Palestine advocates who either voted for Trump or stayed at home. Their righteous outrage was rooted in President Biden’s failure to more vigorously demand a ceasefire to stop the slaughter in Gaza and cut-off military aid to Israel to back it up. As a result, hurt and angry Arab Americans and pro-Palestinian allies decided to punish the Democratic Party by voting for the Orange man or by sitting out the election. This was a fatal error in political judgment.
I am a longtime stanch defender of Palestinian rights and advocate for a two-state solution. I have repeatedly declared that there will never be peace in the Middle East until the Palestinian people have a homeland. I was also disappointed that Biden did not rein in Bibi Netanyahu, the arrogant, corrupt, ultra-rightwing, wannabe Prime Minister for Life. It was also clear to me that the erratic, profane and venomous Agent Orange was and is a fierce Israel can do no wrong ally of his partner in crime Bibi Netanyahu. Trump doesn’t give a damn about the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people!
The proof is in the pudding. Having secured a rescue from jail card by triumphantly returning to the White House, Trump’s disdain for the Palestinian people and ignorant, amateurish approach to rebuilding Gaza has been on full display for the world to see. Agent Orange is treating Gaza like a beachfront piece of real estate, offending the Palestinians and entire Arab world by boasting that he will take over Gaza, remove the Palestinians, send them to Jordan and Egypt and transform this vital piece of what’s left of Palestine into a massive, magnificent resort, the “Riviera” of the Middle East!
Donald Trump and King Abdullah of Jordan
The egomaniacal Orange man even had the nerve to double down on this absurd and insulting proposition right in the face of King Abdullah of Jordan during a press availability in the White House, humiliating him for all the world to see. Well, elections have consequences. I am compelled to ask my Palestinian friends and allies who voted for Agent Orange or sat out the election: #HowYouLikeTrumpNow?
