Our View: A letter to future President Trump

America has spoken and Donald Trump is the new president of the United States of America.

Today, we’d like to offer an open letter to our President-Elect and give him a few tips that we feel can assist him as we head toward this transition.

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Mr. Trump, you didn’t win the popular vote, but you still scored an electoral college landslide, securing more than 300 of the 538 possible electoral votes – well more than the 270 needed to win.

But, I think we can all agree, Sir, that your campaign was controversial.

See, Mr. Trump, your comments, both on the trail and also in his past appalled a lot of people around our country.

But exit polls show that you won favor on the campaign trail, because of your promise to bring real change to America at a time when more than 65 percent of voters say that our country is headed in the wrong direction.

But campaign promises are too often written in disappearing ink during election seasons, and our challenge to you, Sir, is two-fold as you begin your attempt to secure a successful, prosperous presidency.

First, Mr. Trump, you have to win back the favor of those who opposed you.

Yes, you are the president of the United States and yes, you easily carved the electoral college to get the dominos to fall in place.

But the people who did not vote for you matter, too, and true success will be finding a way to listen to those people’s ideas and take their values and beliefs into consideration when making a roadmap to guide our country for the next four or eight years.

Visiting with President Obama was a good thing, Mr. Trump, and he’s a good person for you to look to for guidance as this transition takes place.

According to national polls, Obama has an approval rating of greater than 50 percent, which is unheard of for any two-term president – especially in this day and age where people want instant gratification and constant change.

President Obama is also a people person – the most personable president we’ve had in many, many years.

He will have a good, honest idea of what you can do to make this transition a seamless and easy one.

Sure, he has motives and agendas – just like everyone else. But, his two terms have proven to us that he does love the American people, so we fully expect his advice to be rooted with the utmost best of intentions.

Secondly, Mr. Trump, you have to make good on a lot of the things that got you election.

Forget the extreme, nearly impossible things like building a wall on the Mexican border or tossing Hillary Clinton in jail.

The American people want you to focus on things that significantly improve their lives.

You promised people in the Midwest and in the Rust Belt better working conditions and more abundant jobs.

They rewarded you by casting a vote on behalf. You won Wisconson, Michigan and Pennsylvania. You weren’t expected to win any of the three.

Reward those people and everyone in our country by making good on that promise of a better economy.

Get people working again, and come up with an economic plan that works for both business owners and employees.

Mr. Trump, you are a lot of things, but to accumulate the wealth that you have shows that you do know business.

Bring that business to the American people like you promised.

Also, create a strong homeland security team that can free our nation of terrorism as best as possible.

ISIS is a real threat, and whether you call it radical Islamic terrorism or another, less controversial name, we all have a common goal: to see our nation’s streets become safer.

Mr. Trump, most locally supported your election, but still some didn’t.

Around the country, it was split right down the middle.

But as Americans, we trust the process and will give you a chance until you do something to mess things up.

Make true to your promise, Mr. Trump.

Give us results.

Go ahead – Make America Great Again!

But just do it in a way that’s great for everyone.