As Someone Outside America, I Think Your Country Made A Good Choice With Donald Trump

Across the Atlantic Ocean, the United States of America is in political turmoil. In what came as a shock to almost everyone outside of his political circle, Donald Trump was named the President-elect of the USA on November 8. This seemed to send much of America into a downward tailspin with many asking how, why and what would happen next. Many Americans are currently suffering through a time of pure panic.

But from here in Lebanon, I think that the United States may have made a good choice in selecting Donald Trump as their next President. Allow me to explain.

I will admit that Donald Trump has made comments that many have taken as racist, misogynistic, xenophobic and otherwise offensive in nature. These things define who he is as a person, as an individual. But they don’t define his policies in their entirety.

Looking at Donald Trump as a candidate–and not just as a person–sheds some light on some of his policies that could (and likely will) immensely benefit the United States as a whole.

Throughout the entire campaign season, Donald Trump was repeatedly questioned and blasted for his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Every time he was attacked for the relationship, Trump deflected, saying that he doesn’t praise Putin, but has respect for his leadership abilities.

With Russia-US relations incredibly caustic at the moment, the world waited eagerly to see how the election would impact the relationship between the two powerful countries. And within hours of the announcement that Trump had won the election, Putin reached out to congratulate him and announce that he would be willing to attempt to restore ties.

This represents a huge step forward in a number of fields for the US. A restored and revitalized relationship with Russia could help with trade, with international safety and with the eventual defeat of Middle Eastern terrorism. With countries seemingly constantly ravaged by terrorist attacks, the tandem attack on terrorism that could result from a Russia-US combined effort could be the end of terrorism as a whole.

In the past, the US and Russia have teamed up to fight against international terror, reaching solidarity in 2015 when they agreed to attempt to cut off cash flow to ISIS. Now, with Donald Trump at the helm, the potential for a repaired relationship and more aggressive terrorism stance is becoming a reality.

Terrorism doesn’t just affect the US in the form of domestic attacks, either. The refugee crisis–a hot subject in the Presidential debates–is one that applies to not only the US but all of Europe. Syrian refugees fleeing the war-torn cities like Aleppo have created problems in various countries around the world. The problems there won’t be solved by simply accepting more and more refugees–the problem needs to be attacked at the source: by stomping out terrorism. Donald Trump can do this by taking a strong stance on ISIS and Middle Eastern terrorism, even if that means repairing relations with Russia in a tag-team effort.

I won’t ask you to ignore the things that Donald Trump has said, nor will I insist that they should be cast aside or that you shouldn’t be vigilant of the actions he takes and promises he makes. Instead, I think that you–and everyone else–should keep an open mind about his policies and what he can do to benefit your country.

As an outsider to the United States, you might say that I have no stake in this; as a male you may say that I’m ignorant to what he’s said and done. But as someone who stays up to date on what’s happening in politics and how it will affect those in America and abroad, I do have a stake in this. We’re all human, and some of Donald Trump’s policies can, and likely will, benefit humanity.