By Nayaba Arinde
Editor-At- Large
A visit to London, England, last week revealed that much of the populace there is concerned over America’s Presidential General Election result. With a passionate “we” perspective–Black British political observers voiced an informed opinion about U.S. politics and its international impact.
“Donald Trump may start a war, just to end it – becoming an instigator and a savior at the same time,” said a London senior on a Brixton-bound tube train.
A young mum with a pushchair responded, “Europe has so many right-wing groups. They see him as some sort of positive influencer…His election affects all of us all over the world.”
“We were surprised that Trump got back in.
It’s almost like if Boris Johnson became Prime Minister again,” Manchester, England-based community activist Aniff Akinola told Our Time Press. “It is going to embolden people on the far right and people throughout Europe.”
Living with the consequential Brexit–Britain’s exit from the European Union has had a dire effect on the economy, and the pockets of everyday people.
The BBC said that of the “1.2 million people who came to live in the UK in the 12 months to June 2024,” many are EU nationals. Oxford University’s Migration Observatory said that in 2021/22 most migrants also came from, “India, Poland, Pakistan, Romania, and Ireland.”
A reported 479,000 people emigrated out of the UK in 2024.
The bad breakup with decades-long European partners, plus a dodgy economy, has seriously impacted housing, the National Health Service, employment opportunities, and the general quality of life of the people. The UK government plans to overhaul job centers and health care support. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall is outlining a “plan to return 2.8 million long-term sick to the workplace,” said Metro.co.uk.
With Trump suggesting major tariffs, UK concerns revolve around issues such as “Who are we going to go with – Trump or the European Union?” said Akinola. “Even though we are no longer a part of the EU, they are our closest and biggest market.
The EU will consolidate with many other countries. Mexico and Canada will try and find ways to become Trump-adverse and protect themselves against the effect that he is going to try and create. Many Americans who did not vote for Trump are suffering from the first ‘ism’ under a stigma that is not of their making.”
On this side of the pond, Brooklyn resident and longtime human rights activist Rosemary Mealy told Our Time Press that the 2024 Presidential election “was one of the most important of our lifetime. The cascade of young people in the streets were also being proactive, calling out the US and ascribing personal responsibility to Biden for the carnage in Gaza against the Palestinian people.”
Simultaneously as the Republicans swept the November 5th election taking both the House and the Senate, supporters of Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris dissect the anatomy of a general election, as President-Elect Trump revels in his controversial cabinet picks.
“Vice President Kamala Harris lost this year by 1.6 points — that’s a more than 6-point swing,” stated MSNBC. “While 4.2 million fewer people went to the polls this year than in 2020, Harris received 6.8 million fewer votes than Biden, while Trump upped his total by 2.8 million.”
Mealy, author of the Black Classic Press ‘Fidel’ and ‘Malcolm X-Memories of a Meeting,’ continued that due to “our historical presence in this country…
We had the responsibility to engage our community in civic education foremost by mobilizing our people to vote, and the geopolitical reality had to be framed in the sphere of right-wing populism and rising fascism.
We were warned about Project 2025, which is a script that is being put into place every day as Donald Trump prepares to once again ascend to the White House…We have no choice but to join efforts now in building a United Front Against Fascism and Anti-Repression Coalitions.”
Talk swirls around the President-elect’s campaign promise of tariffs on Mexico and Canada and controversial picks for the border czar, AG, FBI head, etc. Already, states are trying to Trump-proof certain rights and policies.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has said that he intends to work with the January-installed government on immigration, but not necessarily Trump’s stance that he will deport millions of people without papers from day one. Adams has already spoken with Trump, and his new border czar Thomas Homon, and said he will deport immigrants charged with committing crimes.
“I made it clear that I’m not going to be warring with this administration,” said the mayor. “I’m going to be working with this administration.”
Since April 2022, Adams has said that 220,000 migrants have come to NYC, many bused in from Texas and Florida. Up to 170,000 have moved on, but he said that with a $6.4 billion price tag, the Biden administration refused to reimburse or adequately financially support the Sanctuary City obligation.
Over the next two to three years, international activist Mealey told Our Time Press there should be “an alternative party to challenge the lack of leadership in the democratic party…Trump 2.0 will accelerate its attacks at destabilizing sovereign nations through regime changes and outright war. We must step up our fight against US intervention against sovereign nations.
Especially close to here at home by supporting the people of Haiti, Venezuela, and Cuba, in their 60-plus years of being embargoed by an illegal and immoral blockade, as well as those African nations such as Burkina Faso, Senegal, and Zimbabwe, whose progressive stances against empire is being challenged by young leaders and their people.
“This is no time to retreat; we have to aggressively move forward to continue the struggle in the spirit of our ancestors who resisted, at all odds, chattel slavery, Jim Crow, and other forms of racist terrorism.”