Love him or hate him: talking Trump has its benefits

WASHINGTON, DC. (NEWS 1130) – The old rule is to never discuss religion or politics with friends and family to help avoid conflict. However, that seems to be out the window when it comes to US president-elect Donald Trump. Whether you like him, Trump has been a household name for the last year, and it’s only ramping up with the 70-year-old set to officially take office.

Everywhere you turn people seem to be talking Trump these days — good, bad and even downright ugly and one local political expert says that’s a good thing.

“It’s incumbent on all of us to make an extra effort to try and understand why it is there are people in this world that don’t think the same way as we do,” says UBC Professor Max Cameron who points to the great divide in the US. “One of the lessons from the last [US] election is Americans are no longer talking to each other. They have segregated themselves into red states and blue states and into different silos and echo chambers. They’re losing their ability to articulate common shared values.”

Cameron says the discussion surrounding Trump — albeit polarizing — is still a discussion which is imperative at this time. “There are real risks with a Trump presidency and people do have to be prepared for how they’re going to respond if things go sideways with this administration.”

He adds while the increased political engagement is encouraging, he worries about the impact last fall’s US presidential election will have on us here in BC this spring. “We’re very much affected by cultural trends in the United States,” says Cameron who wonders if we may see the same negative fuelled campaign in the upcoming provincial election.

“Given the NDP in the last [provincial] election ran a high road campaign and lost a 20-point lead, there’s some reason to believe the NDP will go much more negative,” adds Cameron. “The [BC] Liberals have already begun to make investments in what looks likely to be a negative campaign.”

Inauguration Day in the US is this Friday.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today