I’m going to be honest and start out by saying I was a big Hillary Clinton supporter (I’m sorry, Bernie bros). I was with her since she announced she was running for president. The idea of voting for the first female president in my first presidential election sounded like a dream. When Donald Trump announced he was running for president back in 2015, I instantly thought to myself, “Yeah. Okay. He’s going to drop out really quick.” I think that’s what most of us thought.
Then the GOP chose him as their respective nominee after all of the other Republican candidates dropped out. Yes, it spelled trouble, but it still felt unrealistic. A lot of people were making fun of the idea of a Trump presidency. I heard things like, “Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” or “This is such a joke.” A lot of liberal Democrats expected Clinton to win for sure.
I was just as nervous as I’m sure a lot of you were on Election Night. Election Night is basically Christmas in my house. This year, it was the first time I wasn’t home with my family celebrating a presidential election. However, this election wasn’t worth a celebration at all. It was my first presidential election and I had a choice between two candidates who people thought couldn’t be trusted. My dad texted me earlier that day saying, “This is not the type of election I was hoping you would vote for the first time. I’m praying both parties in 2020 will give us real viable candidates.” I called my family twice that night, just to check in on their thoughts.
As Trump’s electoral votes kept increasing, so did my fears. I was on Twitter all night, and received plenty of alerts from my Associated Press app. I didn’t go to sleep until one o’clock in the morning.
When I woke up at about 7 a.m., I checked my phone to find out mine and a lot of other people’s fears had come true. Donald Trump would be the next president of the United States. I was heartbroken. I called my dad immediately. “Why?” I asked him. “Just why?” My dad taught high school economics and government for over 30 years and he couldn’t believe the election either. I didn’t ask him who he voted for, but I did ask him the questions everyone else asked to themselves: “Is the world going to end?” and “Can I move to Canada now?” My dad replied “No. The world is not going to end and you’re not moving to Canada.”
On the more political side, he told me a few other things. Trump might only have one term in office. That’s only four years. The guy is 70 years old. Is he really going to want to run again when he’s 74? Additionally, while the majority of the Senate and House are Republicans, that doesn’t mean they will pass every bill he suggests.
Trump is not a “typical Republican” because he’s changed his views on things so many times and his attitude is unacceptable. Many Republican politicians don’t like him. The House and Senate may allow him to repeal Obamacare and create stricter immigration and abortion laws, but they’re probably not going to let him build a wall around Mexico. As for overturning same sex marriage, it’s not going to happen unless a major case comes to the Supreme Court that really challenges it. As long as the same five justices who voted to (Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Stephen Breyer) legalize same-sex marriage stay on the Supreme Court, LGBTQA supporters shouldn’t worry, even if Trump puts in an Antonin Scalia wannabe. Plus, the cases would have to go through the lower courts first and many of those courts are filled with liberals. If same-sex marriage does get repealed and Roe v. Wade does get overturned, it will create even more chaos than there is now.
I’ve seen a lot of unrest, worry and hate from my fellow peers. I’ve seen it on social media and on my campus. It was a very gloomy day after Election Day. There was a sort of pain everyone who didn’t support Trump felt. I’ve heard stories of people in tears when they found out Trump was going to be president and there have been threats from students who are Trump supporters. It was just a day of chaos.
Look, I really really wanted Clinton to win just as bad. I absolutely can’t stand Trump or Mike Pence. I dislike them both with a fiery and burning passion. Both are awful, terrible people who are against everything us Democratic liberals stand for. Trump and Pence are both sexist, homophobic (Pence, especially) and racist. If something happens to Trump and Pence has to take office, it’s just as bad.
Despite all of this anger built up inside Democrats and myself, I have one thing I’d like for you to do right now. Take a deep breath and say to yourself, “It’s all going to be okay.” The world is not going to end. Yes, the outcome of this election was awful. Yes, I don’t like the electoral college either. No, I’m not a Trump supporter and never was. It sucks that that this is our reality. I’m angry. But there is still hope and we should still be optimistic about life.
We need to take a minute to reunite and come together as Americans. Look at some of the good things that did happen on Election Night. While Clinton didn’t clinch the presidency, there were plenty of women who definitely did make history. Catherine Cortez Masto became the first Latina senator in U.S. history when she won the seat in Nevada. Florida may have been a huge let down for Clinton, but not for Stephanie Murphy, who became the first Vietnamese-American woman to be elected to Congress. Oregon elected Kate Brown to become the U.S.’s first openly LGBTQA governor. Ilhan Omar was a Somali refugee who made history by becoming the first Somali-American legislator ever. Even on Trump’s end, Kellyanne Conway became the first woman to run a successful presidential campaign.
If you played a role in this election, be proud of what you did. To all of my friends who helped in the Vote Oswego campaign, thank you for doing your part. Thank you for doing all you could to influence college students to get out there and vote. Voting does matter, even if someone else doesn’t think so. When 2020 comes along, I’m hoping the campaign will be even stronger. To all of my broadcasting and journalism friends who worked during the election, whether at WTOP-10 or at the local or network level and whether you’re talent or a producer, be proud of yourselves. It was a very, very long night, but a moment to remember for the rest of your lives. At cocktail parties, you can go up to somebody and brag about the fact you helped cover a presidential election. Four years from now, I dream I’ll be doing the same thing you guys all did that night.
If you still don’t feel like your voice was heard, now is the time to take action. Go ahead and be part of a protest against Trump. You have the right to protest as long as it doesn’t turn violent. Sign that Change.org petition to get Clinton into the White House. Get involved in grassroots movements and join organizations supporting what you’re passionate about. Posting your political opinion on social media isn’t enough to make change happen. Change only comes from taking action.
It’s okay to be upset about the results of the presidential election, but don’t let it hang over your head like a dark cloud. Hate and sorrow will never win. Everything is going to be okay. Even Oprah Winfrey believes there’s hope. You might not agree with Trump’s policies or his personality, and that’s okay. I don’t agree with them either. Who knows what these next four years will bring. We’re going to be prepared no matter what and we’re going to stick together. If we can survive eight years with George W. Bush, we can survive a Trump presidency. We will keep moving forward and we will get stronger, even if we have a president we don’t like. As Barack Obama said, “The sun will still rise tomorrow morning.”