Ali Rizvi:
In the last 48 hours:
- the Muslim ban policy was quietly removed from Trump's website as voters hit the polls;
- Trump praised Clinton highly and showed a willingness to work with her'
- Trump met with Obama and had a 90-minute conversation (which was originally supposed to be 10 minutes), which Obama called "excellent," with Trump saying it's "an honor" to have met Obama, that he hopes to meet Obama "many more times in the future," and??yes??even declares his intention to call on Obama for "counsel."
To some extent, this is normal transitioning after US presidential elections. But with Trump, a lifelong Democrat until a few years ago, this is going to be really interesting to watch. It's too early to say whether Trump just said whatever he needed to win at the time and will now roll back the worst aspects of it. It's too early to say whether this is that "pivot" he was supposed to make this summer. But, as they say in alt-right parlance, Trump's "cucking" has begun.
There will be no Muslim ban (it's unconstitutional anyway), and no one will be prosecuting Hillary, much less throwing her in jail, to the disappointment of the "Lock her up!" crowd. In fact, for a significant segment of Trump's supporters this past year, there will probably be several more disappointments to come.
This, of course, doesn't mean Trump isn't repellant on many levels. He is. But he's a textbook demagogue. And one thing about demagogues: when their audience and role changes, so do they.