President Trump, You’re Fired!

It’s over.

Joe Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, have reached the necessary 270 electoral college votes to clinch the presidency on January 20, 2021.

With that, President Donald Trump is fired.

**LEAVING THE WHITE HOUSE BRIEFING ROOM.** President Trump leaves the briefing room after making unsubstantiated accusations against the Democrats. (Photographed by Carlos Barria)

**THE CELEBRATION BEGINS.** Supporters of President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris gathered in New York after the major news networks called the race for them. (Photograph from The New York Times)

A significant portion of America’s population is gleeful with Mr. Biden’s win, but there is also a significant portion that is reeling from Mr. Trump’s loss. After days of accusing fraud, he can’t do anything but to watch his lead in the battleground states evaporate. Such unsubstantiated accusations have made it difficult for a nation to move forward amid the great political divide.

Kamala Harris, the senator from the state of California, will become the nation’s first woman vice-president. She is poised to ascend to the vice-presidency 36 years after a woman had first tried to do so – in the person of Geraldine Ferraro, in 1984.

The world began to congratulate the president-elect, whom they view as the man who will restore the norms that have been shattered during the Trump presidency.

“Biden’s victory restores the values of genuinely liberal democracy, which upholds human rights, including individuals’ rights and those of minorities,” Rodrigo Maia, speaker of the lower chamber of the National Congress of Brazil, said on behalf of President Jair Bolsonaro.

“It is victory of good over evil and it is not victory for you and the people of America alone, but victory for most people of the world, majority of whom watch helplessly as the world that had been steadily and painstakingly built since the end of the Second World War was being pulled down,” Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said in a statement.

“Their win gives hope to rest of the world that right wing extremism & those who sow division & hatred will sooner or later be relegated to the pages of history like Donald Trump,” Mehbooba Mufti, an opposition politican in India, said.

Supporters of Mr. Biden broke out to celebrate his win, with one saying that their “nightmare is now over.” Ignoring social distancing and screaming in joy, these people are sighing in relief that the Democrat has emerged victorious, four years after Mr. Trump’s upset win.

Now that the people have spoken, it’s time to tell Mr. Trump his favorite ‘The Apprentice’ line: ‘You’re fired!’

“This whole week has been really anxiety-filled and this, it just feels like a nice breath of fresh air,” one supporter said in The Washington Post.

The last time that a challenger defeated an incumbent was in 1992 when then-incumbent George H.W. Bush was toppled out of office by then-challenger Bill Clinton. Mr. Bush was struggling to resolve domestic issues, thus allowing Mr. Clinton to persuade the nation to elect him.

Meanwhile, here in the Philippines, the Palace has assured that the bilateral ties of our country and theirs will not change.

“You see the (U.S.) State Department ensures continuity as far as U.S. foreign policy is concerned. So we don’t expect any major changes in bilateral relations between the Philippines and the United States,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in an interview on Wednesday.

“Of course, there is an issue of personal relations but I think given time the President can establish equally warm personal relations with whoever wins this election even it’s not President Trump,” he added.

The tumultuousness of the past four years under a Trump presidency depends on the person you’re asking. For the Democrats, he has denigrated the oath of office he has taken as president. But for the Republicans, he has reclaimed an America that was looking different than ever before. He has fanned the flames of hate, ignited hyperpartisanship and erased the legacy of his predecessor whom he deeply hates.

To be fair, he has presided over an economic boom before the pandemic emerged. The stock market has kept going up, partly because of his experience as a real estate developer. And he has reshaped the judiciary in favor of the conservatives, including his appointment of 3 Supreme Court justices – the most appointments since Former President Ronald Reagan.

Now that the people have spoken, it’s time to tell Mr. Trump his favorite “The Apprentice” line: “You’re fired!”

But wait, there’s more.

“If for any reason the election is stolen from or in some sort of way Joe Biden is declared the winner, Trump will announce he’s going to run for re-election in 2024,” Stephen K. Bannon, his close adviser, said.

So, to reword, “you’re temporarily fired!”