Trump presidency: Bane or boon?

Many still can’t believe or even accept the defeat of Hillary Clinton. I even thought she got it made but, to the astonishment of many, she got it made for Donald Trump… phew!

I would like to say that I’m pretty good at guessing and have never been wrong with my predictions when it comes to the US presidential elections. But this time my guess was not good enough. And then I remember this rather unusual and archaic word back when I was still cracking crossword puzzles, “eximious” which means, excellent or outstanding.  I would like to best describe Trump this way because he just simply defied the verity and efficiency of statistics.  

The sudden twist of fate does not happen quickly. How in the world did he do it in spite of the fact that many Americans do not only disagree with him, but they dislike him so bad for his bad temper and his distaste for colored people in living in America? There may be something there that only Trump understood so cunningly well that he managed to change the mind of voters to his favor at the last minute. And whatever it is, I’m sure he was not into vote-buying (lol).

After all the harsh words and the boldness of his position against migrants (legit or otherwise), will he really pull the plug to send Muslims, Mexicans, Filipinos, the Blacks, back to where they belong? While many of us think that he will turn out to be the next Hitler in America, but Trump cannot just have the balls to do it in reality. Even if he did have the balls to do all that he slurred during the campaign, what is at stake here is his entire business empire if he makes good of every word he stood and spoke.

Trump does business with Mexicans and partly owns Ford, which manufactures cars in Mexico. He also produces apparels in Mexico. He does business also with Muslims where he operates a chain of hotels in Dubai and Turkey. And he does business, too, in the Philippines with his ambitious real estate portfolio with Century Properties. I would like to believe that all that Trump trumpeted in the elections were merely rhetoric to sway Americans into his new brand of patriotism.

He understood well the American psyche and the sentiments of many jobless and fearful Americans in this age of outsourcing and the rise of religious extremism in the Middle East.

But what is it going to be for the Philippines under the Trump administration? Surprise, surprise. President Duterte has just appointed the president and CEO of Century Properties, Jose Antonio, as special envoy to the United States. As I have said early on, Century Properties is Trump’s real estate partner in the Philippines. And I am impressed with the way we make friends with the United States because we choose the right men at the right time.

It’s too early to say what is going to happen next when Trump will be at the helm. But I do not believe that call centers will pull out of the country just because Trump wants them back. That cannot happen. Trump is a businessman and he knows pretty well the essence of competition and globalization which he himself has long embraced with all the business holdings he has across the world. The world economy cannot be undone anymore. It would take another form of capitalism for him to be able to make that kind of change he wants to build for the Americans.

By the way, someone just messaged me on Facebook and asked, "What's in store for real estate in the Philippines with Trump?" and I said back "Trump or Clinton they matter not. Presidents come and go no matter what. But real estate stays whether you like it or not." 

Congratulations Donald Trump! May your four years bear fruit for the world. Congratulations to all Realtors! May you and your clients enjoy the fruits of real estate for all your years in this world!