“Let’s See What Trump Can Do”: Inevitable Surprise and a Stunning View from an Uber Driver in North Carolina

Lisa A. Gennetian

November 12, 2024

Many of us faced choices the evening of November 5. Stay awake, keep multiple social media and news channels open for live updates, and ride the journey of the presidential election as it unfolded. Or, be selective, catch sound bites about specific election races, and otherwise turn it off. Or, ignore.

I was in group 2. After the race for North Carolina governor was called, I promptly turned off all information channels. It felt more settling to embrace an American-democracy-at-work mindset and wait for the inevitable surprise. It certainly felt more comforting than the alternative, that is, to close the day with questions rather than answers: Who would win? How will society respond? How will I feel? How long will it take for results to be officially called, and so on?

The outcome the next day was abundantly clear, with the Trump and Vance Republican sweep  perhaps neither inevitable nor a surprise. Or perhaps it was an inevitable surprise—two words cleverly strung together by my Uber driver on the Wednesday following the election. A staunch Republican, an immigrant from Nigeria, he described himself as an African American and was an eager conversationalist about American politics.

I listened. Gobsmacked by the election outcome, I knew it was time for my wake-up call.

The Uber driver offered a simple, elegant, and precise analysis. Persuasive. Clear. Compelling. His analysis, landing in optimism: Let’s see what Trump can do.

The guideposts that shaped his view of American politics and what Americans want stunned me:

1.     Trump has clear economic policy. He is a businessman. People paid $XX for this item this year, and when Trump was president they paid $YY. $YY was much less than $XX.

2.     Trump is experienced at governing. He has a big head, he is loud, and people like the way he talks. Americans need someone to guide them, a big, loud, simple talker. People listen to Trump.

3.     Trump knows everybody, especially the criminals.

4.     Trump kept the U.S. out of war. Putin will listen to Trump.

5.     Trump will close the border. This will keep immigrants from taking jobs from white people. White people need their jobs.

Since it was a cordial conversation, I offered a few friendly counters.

I asked: How did you immigrate to the U.S.? He said, “It was a lottery. I got a job at a hotel in Durham. It is a job that does not replace a job for a white person, because white people need other people to work for them.”

I pointed out that Kamala Harris was an attorney general, a job with the aim of prosecuting criminals. He said, “But she does not know anybody.”

I said, “But Trump is a criminal.” He said, “Every politician is a criminal.”

With pride, the Uber driver emphasized that he is entitled to his opinion. He revealed that he has been heavily involved in the Republican Party since arriving in the U.S. and no one else in his family voted for Trump. He boasted the strategy of political party sweeps: voting based on party lines irrespective of a candidate’s qualifications.

We arrived at my destination. With hints of hope and resignation, he said, “Let’s see what Trump can do.”

I strolled into the airport humbled and terrified: Voting for Trump was easy and made easier based on a worldview of policy as an on/off switch, boiling down the human experience into scenario X or Y, laser-clear zones summarized in sound bites, quite contrary to the history, evolution, commitment, investment, and deliberate tactical and careful balancing of American-democracy-at-work.

“Let’s see what Trump can do.” Will it be an inevitable surprise?