Editor, Manteca Bulletin,
If Donald Trump, Secretary Clinton and President Obama invited me for a beer and I had to pick one I would pick President Obama. Why? He is smart, personable, classy and down to earth. It is not going to happen but that is what I would do.
I have told all my friends that Trump could not win because he insulted women (51% of voters) and Hispanics (12.5% of voters). The math just doesn’t work…and yet it did. I was wrong.
So how did he do it? He made some good decisions and he got a lot of help.
He took a play out of President Obama’s book and consolidated his base. Obama took 95% of the Black vote. Trump played to his base which was the disenfranchised white middle class…the ones Nixon called the “silent majority”. He preached keeping jobs at home and the dignity of work. Good decision because of the white middle class is the vast majority.
He talked tough on the illegal immigration from Mexico. I was surprised to see that he received support from the Hispanic population. The non-politician Hispanics that were televised seemed to want strong immigration laws. They are here legally and they want the folks that follow them to come here legally also. It wasn’t expected. Another good decision.
He preached unapologetically about putting Americans first. For those that lost their jobs when Carrier and Ford closed American plants and sent manufacturing jobs to Mexico his message hit them at their kitchen table. Another good decision and Ford and Carriers timing was impeccable.
He also received some help from Secretary Clinton. She took her middle class white vote for granted and it cost her dearly. Deplorable…bad choice.
He also received a lot of help from President Obama over Martin and Ferguson. When President Obama sent Eric Holder to oversee Ferguson in the Michael Brown case he sent the message to the American people that he did not trust the police, the local population to make good decisions and that we all needed government oversight to be better people. I believe his heart was in the right place and that there are problems that need to be addressed but to do it the way he did sent a very polarizing message to the majority of people in our country and it consolidated Trump’s base.
He may have gotten the most help from the Republican National Committee that let 15 professional politicians in the debates and one Carson and one Trump. He did not win a majority of the primary votes but ended up with the nomination because the cookie cutter candidates split the majority of the votes. He won because he was the least political candidate we have ever seen and tapped into the anger the citizens feel towards politicians.
It is my sincere hope that a President Trump will keep his word that he will put America first and use his negotiating skills to make things work for all Americans. I also hope that the citizens of this country will work together to help him make it work. The divisions we have are caused in part by politicians and the media. It is time to stop being manipulated and help with the solutions.

Mark Laurora
Manteca