What is PRESC going to be?

What is PRESC going to be?

They say a week is a long time in politics. This week must have been a millennium. First, the Conservative party voted in a Black female as their leader. Second, Qatar held an election to change their constitution and finally Donald Trump has won the presidential election which means he will return to the White House on January 20th. Because of the election here in Doha, the Emir decreed a national 2-day holiday to celebrate the result. "At 4:30 am, the day began with a series of WhatsApp messages, typically a sign of bad news. However, this time the messages announced the start of an extended weekend. Following an impromptu gym session, attention turned to watching the election results from across the Atlantic.

Initially the proxy war of safe states declaring their respective votes was the highlight, but this was just the phony war before the 7 ‘swing’ states decided who was to be the incumbent at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for the next 4 years. The first indication that it was going to be a successful evening for Trump and the Republicans came when Iowa was won by 17 points. This was significant because over the weekend a respected pollster Ann Selzer had said that Kamala Harris was ahead in the state. This would have been hugely significant as Iowa is staunch Republican stronghold. As it was, this was the latest in a series of monumental gaffes by polling companies. Next up was the first of the seven to fall, North Carolina. Whilst not crippling at the time to the Democrats, it would have made them slightly uneasy. However, with Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania still to come, they had hope. This was extinguished when early counting showed the Trump was taking an unassailable lead in the states that Harris needed to win. Fast forward to the final death knell and where early predictions were of days of fraught counting, the Harris campaign suffered terminal news about 3 hours after the polls closed. Indeed, the win is so seismic that it will likely be the biggest electoral victories in recent times. On top of that, Trump has won the national vote which is something a Republican hasn’t done since George W Bush beat John Kerry in 2004.

So, what is the point of this article? Well, I watched the coverage on the Rest is Politics live stream. For those unaware, Rest is Politics is one of the UK and indeed world’s most successful podcasts. Hosted by New Labour’s communications director Alastair Campbell and the ex-Conservative MP Rory Stewart. They have found a niche product that is listened to by millions every episode. Marketing themselves as two men who ‘disagree agreeably’ they discuss both UK and global issues. It is an enjoyable listen, (even if at times Stewart can be a little too overly earnest) and should be commended for the breadth of topics they discuss. Both have made their dislike of Donald Trump quite open and at times bordered on what some in the media describe as ‘TDS’ or Trump Derangement Syndrome where people respond to Trump in an exaggerated irrational manner regardless of the issue at hand. Alongside them on the Podcast was ex White House Communication director Anthony Scaramucci who himself hosts the Rest is Politics sister podcast based in the US, Guardian columnist Marina Hyde and the British historian Dominic Sandbrook. Sandbrook co-hosts the Rest is History podcast which is also immensely popular around the world and is both a renowned academic and gifted storyteller.

The livestream started with each participant being asked who they think would win. Stewart was effusive in his belief it would be Harris, Hyde, Campbell and Scaramucci concurred. It took Sandbrook to put his head above the parapet and declare his belief that it would be a Trump win. As it became clear that this was going to be the case, there was almost near meltdown in the studio. Scaramucci ‘joked’ that he would be going to Guantanamo Bay because of his anti-Trump stance (context for readers, he was Trump’s communication secretary for 11 days during the first reign) and Rory Stewart looking like he was going to break into tears as his aims for a Liberalist world order was being pulled beneath him. It took Sandbrook to verbalise why Trump had destroyed Harris.

“I think the one thing that people who are very interested in politics get wrong about politics more than anything else, is that most ordinary people are not interested in politics”

For those interested in politics it can seem bizarre that Trump can get away with the number of outlandish statements he makes. However, Sandbrook was right to point out most people have more important things to do in their lives than be bogged down by the minutiae of the 24-hour news cycle that often portrays the most trivial of incidents as earth shattering revelations. People want to know they have money to spend at the end of the month. If you want to know one reason why blue-collar workers have left the democratic party, consider this; A father working in the Detroit motor industry in the 70’s earned $15 dollars an hour. His daughter is barely earning that as a waitress in 2024. Sandbrook also said something that was fascinating. He mentioned that this period of history is no more remarkable than any that has come before it. In this, he is correct. global events are always built on what has come before them, so dismiss previous events as not as important as current ones is to dismiss the lived experience of the past.

What is PRESC’s aim and vision? To bring history and politics to the masses in an informative, engaging and accessible manner. PRESC Tutoring would like to reach people who usually would dismiss history or political stories out of hand as ‘boring’ or ‘irrelevant.’ We won’t try to convert anyone to either side of the political spectrum, we will try and analyse historical and current affairs in an objective manner whilst always breaking it down to show how the PRESC factor is key in doing this. We will not be controversial for the sake of it, and if at times we say things that go against the grain we will explain our reasoning to encouraged nuanced and civilised debate. For every article we produce, we will endeavour to make video content that will add depth to the blog posts.  If our work is of interest, then we would be delighted if you were to share it with friends and colleagues. If you have feedback then we would love to hear it, both good and bad but hopefully not indifferent!

www.Presctutoring.com