Exactly four years ago to the day, I wrote an article on the outcome of the 2016 election (which you can read here). I made several predictions for Trump's term, and I reflected on the state of the US. I thought the presidency might have a tempering effect on Trump, and while I thought his tendency to speak his mind wouldn't die down. I figured that much of his rhetoric would be just that, and it might end up actually being an uneventful term.

I was wrong.

So after four years of tweets, protests, tariffs, more protests and more tweets, I try to sum up what happened in the past four years, where the US is now, and what lies ahead for the world's oldest democracy.

It's the election that shocked the world. On Tuesday 8 November 2016, the United States of America elected Donald Trump to be its 45th President.

America is a country built on progressive ideals. An open country that has become the superpower it is today through immigration from all parts of the world. A country that has championed free trade and as Thomas Jefferson said in the Declaration of Independence, the 'equality of all men'.

Its precisely for these reasons that it was so shocking to see America turn its back on those very ideals and elect a President who has built his whole campaign on hatred and protectionism. Don't get me wrong, I don't think the world will end just because Donald Trump is President, but it makes you wonder what makes a country such as America elect such a controversial figure.
 
I have read numerous comments and articles denigrating Americans for their choice of leader. Although I agree that the Government-Corporate machinery that is America is heading down a dark path, I still believe that Americans are honest, decent and hardworking people who do not deserve all the negative attention they are receiving.