Bishop T.D. Jakes: 'We Are Dealing with Shock, Grief over Election Outcome'

Nov 16, 2016 03:52 PM EST

Potter's House Senior Pastor T.D. Jakes joins Howard Fineman of Huffington Post on Tamron Hall's MSNBC (Microsoft- National Broadcasting Company) segment to discuss the shock and grief that's befitting many Americans over the recent election outcome.

T.D. Jakes offers a fresh perspective on the situation and lays out key points in understanding the internal and external chaos now being witnessed amongst Americans.

Jakes says, there are a lot of things to be processed and many cannot understand the "What" and "How" of the situation, given that the press hasn't given people the lead as to what is about to happen. With this uncertainty, people find it hard to deal with the abrupt changes. From shock and grief, many Americans are now faced with trauma.

Tamron Hall then says of incidents in Philadelphia and South Carolina where the emblem of the Nazi Party's Swastika is being spray-painted on walls. And she expresses her fears with the young feeling helpless. T.D. Jakes then says this is an act of defiance, but it is not new. It has always been said that "Black lives don't matter," but it doesn't matter whoever is put on the presidential seat because the problem is that "we have a dysfunctional political system." The recent elections, he adds, gave a voice to average Americans who haven't been heard for the longest time. This is why, disruptions are being made.

The Pastor made mention of an analogy, where he says that people can't expect to have a good dinner just because they have a good chef. In much the same way, Americans cannot expect to have a good country just because they have a good president.

Jakes also acknowledges that everyone has been left behind for different reasons. Whether someone is White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, all these external differences do not matter because the unifying point is, "We're not being heard."

He also stresses that people should stop pointing fingers to other people, and they should not let one or two people run the country. They should, in their own ways, lead the life that they want.

Huffington Post's Howard Fineman then adds into the discussion, saying that the "angry white middle-class vote" has been threatened by the recent elections. This is mainly because Trump dealt with holes in the system, and gave out easy answers to difficult issues. For example, he once said that American is failing because the government is letting in too many immigrants; and he also said that the U.S. will be better if its steel mills are back for production so more jobs can be provided. Many voters may have liked Trump's straightforward answers, but the challenge now is he's got to deliver.