Obama vs Trump: Exit cosmopolitan man, enter brash billionaire

Barack Obama closes the book on his presidency and US President-elect Donald Trump gives a thumbs up toward the media after meeting Martin Luther King III at Trump Tower in New York City on January 16, 2017. PHOTO| AFP

What you need to know:

  • One thing that has stood out about Obama and endeared him to young people has to be his energy.
  • He was 47 when he was elected, and he had a verve and swag that young people would find cool.
  • When he sunk that three-point shot during his campaign in South Carolina THAT was the personification of cool. He also appealed to the millennials with his inclusive approach.

As president-elect Donald Trump gets inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States of America, we take a look at how his time from election night to this day differs from outgoing President Barack Obama’s.

BACKGROUNDS

The Obamas’ move to the White House was going to be more than a step up for the lawyer-activist Barack, who adopted the city of Chicago as his home to feel like he was in a community of his people. He would definitely have felt intimidated having not been in a position of grandeur in any sense (we all remember his dressing down by Kenyan MPs when he stopped by as a US senator and “stuck his nose” in our business).

Trump comes from a wealthy background; in his own words, his father gave him a small loan of $10 million. He spoke and behaved as though this presidency was meant for him, and it is the final stamp to how great a human being he is.

AGE DIFFERENCE

One thing that has stood out about Obama and endeared him to young people has to be his energy. He was 47 when he was elected, and he had a verve and swag that young people would find cool. When he sunk that three-point shot during his campaign in South Carolina THAT was the personification of cool. He also appealed to the millennials with his inclusive approach.

It can be argued Trump is a man from another era. At 70, he has lived it all and it would be highly optimistic to hope that he will change his view of things. Unlike Obama, he is erratic, people make fun of his gestures and hair, and the colour of his skin (the orange tan), and he has very few things people can compliment him on. He sure can close the deal, though.

IMMEDIATE FAMILY

Obama was sworn in as his wife, Michelle, held the Bible for him and his two young daughters, Malia and Sasha, looked on.

Trump will have his wife, Melania, holding the Bible for him as his son Barron looks on. And so will his son Eric and his wife Lara, Donald Jr and his wife Vanessa, not forgetting his daughters Ivanka and her husband Jared, and Tiffany and her partner Ross. His ex-wives Marla Maples and Ivana Zelníčková are also expected to attend.

VICTORY MARGIN IN ELECTIONS

In 2008, Obama’s 365 electoral votes gave him a landslide victory against Republican candidate John McCain, sweeping more than twice his opponent’s 173. Obama also had just under 10 million more popular votes than the then Republican candidate, and his 69 million-plus votes were the most any US presidential candidate has ever received.

In 2016, Trump’s electoral vote-win margin over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton was not as wide, receiving 306 to her 232. Ironically, Clinton had nearly 2.9 million more popular votes than Trump and her 65 million-plus votes are the most votes garnered by a losing candidate in US elections.

US POPULARITY IN GLOBAL SETTING

When Obama was about to take his oath of office in 2009, the Bush administration had the world mostly believing that America’s influence globally was “mostly negative” and decision-making in Washington was based only on America’s profit and not meant for the mutual good of countries involved. This sentiment was felt even by citizens of some of America’s European partners.

As Trump awaits his swearing in, America has generally improved its popularity around the globe, though it has dropped in some of the Middle Eastern nations, after Obama’s administration mostly sought the path of cooperation and negotiating rather than unilateralism when it came to discussing world matters.

WORLD’S COLLECTIVE MOOD

While the world awaited the inauguration of Obama, due to his charisma and inspiring speeches, there was an air of optimism and a positively historic moment for the US and the world. There was a sense of belief that one can be anything they strived to achieve, and that there is good in people still.

Trump will be inaugurated in an air of uncertainty, with Americans of different races, religions and creeds unsure of what his administration will have in store for them.

He has said he will deport, ban, jail and punish in all sorts of ways those he has set his eyes on as what he perceives to be people in the wrong in America. His announcement as victor in the 2016 election saw hundreds of protests erupting in some cities.