The US result, like that of Brexit, and the rise of xenophobic nationalisms in Greece and elsewhere, is being analysed to death by "experts". These learned folk refer to the consequences of globalisation; specifically, the devastation of traditional industries in developed countries, the unequal distribution of wealth, and so on. But no one takes the next step of challenging the assumptions of neoliberalism. Neoliberal economics functions, as its 19th-century version laissez-faire functioned, to justify the power and privileges of a ruling elite, to ensure that the necessities of life are manufactured by people to whom one can pay the lowest wages, and to ensure that an education you can pay for will allow you access to this power and privilege and manipulate both to continue to justify one's elite standing. We learned our lesson after two world wars and a Great Depression (which the classical economists told us would "correct itself"). But the people who lived through those times are now dead or retired. It is our happy fate to do it all over again.
Rod Beecham, Monbulk
Labor must embrace its traditional values
The message for the Labor Party is that the contested ground is no longer the affluent, well-educated middle class but the alienated, the disenfranchised, the unskilled and the unemployed – those Labor abandoned when Paul Keating embraced globalisation and economic rationalism. The rise of the far Right represents a great opportunity for the Left to reclaim its basic principles. The Right is conflicted in defending the working class. Labor owned it once but abandoned it for money and Armani suits. Time to drop the suits and aggressively proclaim traditional Left values; reform the unions so they don't just exist for the benefit of management and themselves; stand on the eternal principles of equity and fairness; and fearlessly reassert them in today's fragmented and environmentally endangered world.
John Laurie, Newport
Australia has its own 'rust belt'
Australians trying to understand why decent working-class Americans could elect a crypto-fascist President should examine Australia's own 20 years of disempowerment and impoverishment in blue collar places like the Latrobe Valley and Broadmeadows, arising from the national destruction of our manufacturing industries. Guided by neoliberalism and inner city-centrism, our political and economic elite have been busily stranding our own "rust belt" communities. I hope they hear the cracking of champagne bottles by Pauline Hanson and other far-right extremists as a wake-up call to start rejecting economic policies that support greed over social responsibility, exclusivity over inclusion, and the monopoly of power over the distribution of fairness.
Cheryl Wragg, Moe
Mass media created Trump the candidate
Trump the phenomenon was a creature of the US mass media. Trump the candidate was given free, extensive, invaluable blanket coverage. The mass media's scorning of Trump's more outrageous utterances not only galvanised Middle America into turning out and voting for him but also into hiding its true intentions from pollsters. So, too, Australia's Fifth Estate helped spawn One Nation and turn Pauline Hanson from fringe player to major actor. So too the British press delivered up Brexit. So, too, a similar unexpected outcome may have eventuated if the Abbott plebiscite had been allowed to proceed. While the patronising views of the "serious press" are to blame, so is the conditioning of the silent majority to reject orthodoxy and "establishment views" by the tabloid press, its TV equivalents and shock jocks.
Graham Devries, Camberwell
Mantra unconvincing
A popular explanation for Donald Trump's victory is that he connected to the common man or the silent majority. Abbott, Abetz, Bernardi and Hanson trumpet that we should make political space for the values held by Trump and his supporters. Are they advocating that the silent majority's value system reflects white male nationalism, racial intolerance and hatred, homophobia, predatory behaviour towards women, economic protectionism and global isolation?
If millions of Americans and Australians hold these values as a basis for human advancement then our education system has completely failed to instil clear thinking skills and social responsibility. It is important to encourage analysis of different political and economic ideologies. However, to accept that the wellbeing of citizens will be nurtured by politicians who preach division and simplistic "solutions" to complex issues is a leap into darkness.
Throughout his career Trump has shown a contempt for those he now purports to represent. We should not be conned by his new mantra that it is time for his nation to "come together", nor our Prime Minister's reassurance that the relationship between Australia and the US will be business as usual.
Geoff Treloar, Foster
Against close US ties
Malcolm Turnbull has made a predictable statement about continuing close ties with the US. I do not support close ties with a nation that elects as president a man who abuses women, threatens immigrants and Muslims, regularly lies, dogwhistles to the KKK and other right-wing extremists, sees his political system as rigged unless he wins, threatens to spread nuclear weapons, undermines NATO and the security of Europe, threatens a trade war with China and others, and describes climate change as a Chinese hoax, for starters.
I do not want my country to go down the US path and create even more inequality, or routinely share in its messianic foreign policy obsessions. With Trump in power and the Republicans rampant, it is time Australia took an independent path, learning from Sweden how to arm ourselves sufficiently to deter emerging aggression while maintaining positive relationships with countries.
Reverend Terry Trewavas, Berwick
We are also fed up
Americans have vented their disillusionment. If our government continues on its current trajectory, it too can expect to be swept out of office. Like the Americans, Australians are fed up with limited full-time employment opportunities, no wage growth, rising house prices, the strain refugees and migrants place on limited resources, hospital and housing waiting lists, indecisive government and just plain fed up with political correctness. Well may Mr Turnbull say it will be business as usual with the US. But, Trump has promised change and if he is to deliver, Australia and the world must expect change, radical change. Time to listen to the people and high time to stop pussy-footing around.
Sue Bennett, Sunbury
Stop looking to US
Faced with a war with Japan in 1941, John Curtin famously said, "Australia looks to America" – an understandable strategy.
The problem is, with the war over, we went on looking to America, bedazzled by its power, by the glamour of Hollywood, and swayed by a sense of a "New World". When we look back, what do we see? That America has led us into wars we should never have been in; that we have allowed America to influence our popular culture, with crassness, violence and shallowness dominating our screens; and we've allowed America to mess with our language and determine how our kids talk and play. Seventy-five years on, it's time we looked away from America. It's over.
Richard Ryan, East Trentham
Smug elites miss story
The US result, part of a global trend, is solely about inequality. The media was also slow on the uptake with Brexit because the elites (including the media) have become too smug, too self-satisfied. Not everyone drives a trendy car, lives in the inner city, and believes innovation/Silicon Valley is our saviour. Unless one works for a global bank or a corporation, globalisation is not necessarily positive. The lack of discourse over the technological revolution and resulting high unemployment has obstructed the media's ability to gauge community sentiment. The media focus in this country has been disproportionately on a plebiscite rather than most voters' primary concerns – climate change and unemployment.
Damien Peters, Brighton
Work ahead for Hockey
Sadly for Australia, the election result will expose that diplomatic lightweight (but expert leaner) Joe Hockey as our representative in the US.
Ian Millar, Mordialloc
Democrats stayed home
Trump's win is explained by the low turnout for Hillary Clinton. Trump got fewer popular votes than either Republican loser against Obama – McCain (2008) 59,948,323; Romney (2012) 60,933,504; Trump 59,495,278. Far from being an endorsement of Trump, the votes reflect the failure of Clinton to motivate voters to turnout.
Ken Coghill, Surrey Hills
Not so glorious days
The traditional white/rural working class sector of the US has allegedly risen up to reclaim the ground they once enjoyed but lost over the past few decades. Ironically, the limited opportunities and disadvantage they are experiencing has been the lot of non-whites dating back to the time of slavery and one that continues. But then again many Trump devotees probably wish they were living in those days gone by.
Rob Park, Surrey Hills
Fix problems at home
In the support shown for Trump, Brexit, Le Pen and the treatment of refugees we are seeing the community say: "Worry about fixing the problems at home for me before worrying about those outside of my borders". This may sound harsh, but my family is more important to me than my neighbour's family.
Paul Rogers, Aberfeldie
Rapture of some sort
While millions of Americans are in rapture at the notion of President-elect Trump, millions of others, and around the world, believe the Rapture is imminent.
Jill Mazzotta, Balaclava
What does he stand for?
We enter a new paradigm. It is now politically acceptable for politicians to lie, be homophobic and racist. Trump supporters now pass this language off as "rhetoric" and say we should have known not to believe what he said. This raises the question – What does Trump really stand for? The world holds it breath.
Meg Paul, Camberwell
AND ANOTHER THING...
The US election
Donald Trump President: the ultimate reality TV show.
Jennifer Del Prete, Pascoe Vale South
The reality of a reality star as president is beyond my wildest imagination.
Dennis Fitzgerald, Box Hill
When did we find out Trump was President? On 9/11.
Mark Orford, Coburg
Just great America. Just great.
David Blom, Nunawading
They have made their bed, now we have to lie on it.
John Ackerman, Keilor East
Not sure what's more dangerous in the hands of an American – a gun or a vote.
Gary Sayer, Warrnambool
The working class reckon it has been shafted by capitalism. So it votes for an archetypal capitalist.
Phil Alexander, Eltham
And the winner is ... the FBI.
John Bye, Elwood
Hope the depression isn't followed by a recession
Andrew Remington, Travancore
How will Trump persuade Americans to pay their taxes?
Lance Cranage, Mount Waverley
Presumably, tax will be deducted before Trump receives his salary. That should kickstart the economy.
Ron Munro, Mount Eliza
Italy 1922, the Black Shirts; Germany 1933, the Brown Shirts; the US 2016, the Red Caps.
Donald Hirst, Prahran East
First Brexit, now Trump. That leaves one nation left from the Coalition of the Willing. Guess who?
Tim Davis, Stuttgart, Germany
Was it rigged Mr Trump?
Sally Rose, Frankston
Two odd spots on page one (10/11)?
Douglas Potter, Surrey Hills
When the electorate votes for the Left it demonstrates good sense. When it votes for Trump, it's been misled and needs re-educating.
Roy Arnott, Reservoir
That chap who stood in for Trump and made a victory speech was good wasn't he?
Brian Moynihan, Castlemaine
Maybe Hillary wasn't the best representative? We're all chairmen of the Hindsight Committee.
Jonathan Lipshut, Elwood
Which nation will provide political asylum for Hillary? It's either that or one of Trump's torture chambers.
John Seal, Hamlyn Heights
Deplorable.
Mary Mandanici, West Preston
Might Australia at long last get its own foreign policy? There has to be a silver lining somewhere.
Margaret Callinan, Balwyn
Oh God, we've got four years of that hair.
Lance Williams, Upotipotpon
With Pussygate behind us, let's just hope the Wall has a cat-flap.
Scott Poynting, Newtown, NSW
Trump is going to need that wall ... to keep people from leaving.
Craig Philp, Apollo Bay
A victory for angry white males.
Jenny Stewart, Kensington
There's never been a better time to be a poorly educated white American male.
Diane Jenkins, Caulfield South
Putin's man has made it to the White House.
Rob Kneale, Ascot Vale
Overheard from Trump: "What do I do now?"
Brian Morley, Donvale
The jester's going to take over the court.
Geoff Wilson, Eaglehawk
Western Bulldogs; Cronulla Sharks; Chicago Cubs; Trump. It was inevitable.
Dave Quinn, Collingwood