president donald trump. get used to it. the world as we knew it is no more. to give trump credit, he had a single formidable intuition: that american anger and uncertainty in the face of the inexorable march of globalization and technology had reached such a pitch that voters were ready for disruption at any cost. enough of elites; enough of experts; enough of the status quo; enough of the politically correct; enough of the liberal intelligentsia and cultural overlords with their predominant place in the media; enough of the financial wizards who brought the 2008 meltdown and stagnant incomes and jobs disappearing offshore. that, in essence, was trump<u+2019>s message. a new yorker, he contrived to channel the frustrations of the heartland, a remarkable sleight of hand. ohio and wisconsin lurched into the trump camp. this upset victory over hillary clinton, the representative par excellence of the american political establishment, amounted to brexit in american form. ever since britain<u+2019>s perverse, self-defeating vote last june to leave the european union, it seemed plausible that the same anti-globalization, often xenophobic forces could carry trump to victory. and so it proved. the disenfranchised, often living lives of great precariousness, arose and spoke. clinton never quite seemed to understand their frustrations, as her challenger for the democratic nomination, bernie sanders, did. i write in a new york stunned into silence. what a difference from the victories of barack obama in 2008 and 2012 when cheering crowds gathered in times square! the silence in this great city, a stronghold of clinton and the democratic party, is revealing: the elites of the east and west coasts, betraying a dangerous arrogance, were dismissive and ignorant to the last of the heartland anger feeding trump<u+2019>s rise. this is the revenge of middle america, above all of a white working-class america troubled by changing social and cultural mores <u+2014> not every american loves choose-your-gender bathrooms <u+2014> and by the shifting demographics that will make minorities the majority by midcentury. barack obama is popular , but racism did not die with america<u+2019>s first black president. sexism is also alive and well, as trump<u+2019>s misogyny-sullied road to victory illustrates. for some americans <u+2013> and this is painful to admit <u+2013> a woman following a black man to the white house was simply too much to swallow. this is a dangerous moment in world affairs, fraught with uncertainty. the institutions of american democracy are strong; the united states is not weimar germany. but trump has shown a worrying contempt for core american values, including respect for diversity, inclusiveness, an independent judiciary, and, at one point, the democratic process itself. with the republican party retaining control of the house and senate, trump will have enormous power, more than o bama who faced a hostile congress. he is a man ill prepared for the highest office, without political experience beyond this bruising campaign. the past months have revealed a personality given to impetuous anger, meanness, mendacity and petulance. how far the people he chooses to place around him will be able to control these instincts will be of critical importance. leaders like president vladimir putin of russia and ayatollah ali khamenei of iran favored trump for a reason: they believe he will make america weaker, the trans-atlantic alliance weaker, and the american-buttressed post-1945 global order weaker. they could well be right. trump has spoken in ways that have undermined nato and the american commitment to its allies in europe and asia. from estonia to japan, people wonder if trump<u+2019>s america will really defend them in the breach. this is a welcome development for all those, like putin, who want nothing more than to probe american weakness, be it in syria or the baltics. trump will have to work very hard to reassure the world. his first words were encouraging: it was now time, he said in his acceptance speech , <u+201c>for us to come together as one united people.<u+201d> but then trump has said everything and the contrary of everything. he has lied repeatedly. the divisions in this bruised america emerging from the most ugly of campaigns should not be underestimated. democracy is unpredictable but must be respected. it is, as churchill noted, the worst system of government except for all others that have been tried. the country wanted change. clinton could not embody that. people were tired of the clinton machine, with its culture of secrecy and evasion, and its way of walking a fine line <u+2014> too fine <u+2014> between noble political causes and dubious personal enrichment. bill clinton entered the white house almost a quarter-century ago. america tends to want to roll the dice and move forward. in this case, with trump, it has taken an extraordinary risk. i fear the worst. trump intuited and revealed the worst traits of worried americans <u+2014> their search for scapegoats, their desire to prostrate themselves before an autocratic savior, their bigotry. if trump governs as he has campaigned, america and the world face real and present danger. you can follow me on twitter ( @nytimescohen ) or join me on facebook . follow the new york times opinion section on facebook and twitter (@nytopinion) , and sign up for the opinion today newsletter . a version of this op-ed appears in print on november 10, 2016, on page a14 of the new york edition with the headline: president donald trump. today's paper | subscribe
president donald trump
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