Professor Cody McClain Brown, Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Political Science, who lives in Zagreb, commented for N1 on Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election.

He expressed his surprise at the decisive defeat of Kamala Harris, especially because the polls and predictions before the election had pointed to a much closer race. In the end, it became very clear what the Americans wanted.

“I didn’t have clear expectations one way or the other, but I was surprised at how close Trump’s victory was and how well he did with different groups of voters,” Brown said, going on to explain what Trump’s victory could mean for American society in terms of social policy, education, healthcare and relations with minorities.

The loss of a large part of the labour force would have a significant economic impact

It all depends on how much of his campaign programme Trump will implement. If he tries to deport 13 to 21 million undocumented citizens, the consequences for American society could be devastating. Many of these immigrants are married to Americans or have American citizen parents, so their deportation would cause massive disruptions.

Furthermore, deporting such a large portion of the labour force would have a significant economic impact. If he appoints Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services, this could have a significant impact on public health given Kennedy’s anti-vaccine stance.

If Trump’s policies fail to “make America great again”, he will blame his opponents or immigrants or invent a conspiracy theory to explain the failure. This is actually the biggest danger of his presidency

In addition, he has stated — and Republicans agree — that he wants to restrict access to health care for the working class. He could also introduce national abortion restrictions, which would seriously jeopardise women’s health. Just last week, for example, a young woman in Texas died because no one would perform the abortion she so desperately needed. No doctor was willing to perform the procedure for fear of going to jail under Texas law,” Brown said.

In addition to domestic policy, Trump’s presidency could also have a significant impact on foreign policy, which Brown described as particularly tense. Issues such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Middle East— – particularly Israel and Iran —and relations with China, NATO and the European Union are all at stake.

We might see Trump going after his opponents

Brown believes that on foreign policy, Russia is likely to make significant concessions in Ukraine and Israel will have a free hand in the occupied territories and Lebanon. Trump could also escalate the trade war with China and possibly start one with the EU.

When asked if he expected further division in American society and a continuation of violent rhetoric in dealing with dissent, Brown said that while he expected a peaceful transfer of power, Trump’s policies would likely deepen the divide between red (Republican) and blue (Democratic) states.

If Trump tries to deport 13 to 21 million undocumented citizens, the consequences for American society could be devastating

“If he doesn’t pursue such a radical agenda, polarisation could decrease. Since he won the popular vote this time, his presidency could be more accepted by the public than in 2016 and there could be fewer clashes with critics. On the other hand, we might see him going after his opponents with the support of the Republicans in Congress and uses the Department of Justice and the FBI to his advantage,” says Brown, expressing pessimism.

“I thought we were better than this”

He also believes that the disinformation, lies and fake news that characterised Trump’s election campaign will continue:

“Even after his 2016 victory, Trump has continued to lie and distort the truth or present what his PR team called ‘alternative facts’ His relationship with the truth depends on how well reality aligns with his interests. So if his policies fail to “make America great again”, I don’t expect him to admit it’s because of his leadership or policies. Instead, he will blame his opponents or immigrants or invent a conspiracy theory to explain the failure. This is actually the biggest danger of Trump’s presidency. He can use lies to attack those who disagree with him, or simply distort reality to fit his narrative,” Brown said.

Issues such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Middle East— – particularly Israel and Iran —and relations with China, NATO and the European Union are all at stake

He concluded by sharing his disappointment with his country, “I thought we were better than this. To my fellow Americans, I say: don’t give up. And to the Croatians, I say: thank you for letting me live here.”