Dear Mr. Trump, President-elect,
I have spent the last several months waiting in anxious anticipation for the night that I could watch the first female president take the stage and lead the country. The one recurring thought cycling through my mind before election night was how proud I would be to tell my children I witnessed history. I could stand before my daughters and granddaughters and provide them with proof of their limitless existences. But now, I will no longer be able to do that.
Mr. Trump, I don’t hate you because you’re not a woman. I don’t even hate you because you are a symbol of the white, male, wealthy and oppressive past.
The truth is I don’t even hate you at all.
Mr. Trump, I fear you.
I am afraid of the rhetoric you have wielded throughout this campaign. I am afraid of the racism, xenophobia, homophobia and misogyny that you have used to appeal to the population of people frustrated with their own situations. I am afraid because far too many people agree with you. And most of all, I am afraid of the future; of the next four years and the implications of your presidency.
Because the way I see it, you have used the divide separating the American people against us. You and your campaign have perpetuated the division between the parties, between races, between genders, between religions and between classes. I am afraid that you have gone too far.
Mr. Trump, as the president of the United States, you are supposed to represent every American. You are the people’s candidate. With the platform you have used throughout this campaign, how am I supposed to believe that you will do that?
I have come away from this election devastated for a number of reasons, but the sad truth is that you are now the representative of this country. You are the people’s voice.
I would want nothing more than to stand in front of my children and grandchildren years from now and look back on your presidency with pride. But at this point in time, I cannot imagine myself regarding your presidency with anything less than bitter disdain.
As a first time voter my view of democracy is now forever mired by the hatred threaded through your campaign. I have spent the past several weeks with a pit in my stomach. I will, for brief moments, forget the outcome of this election. I forget that a man who said he would “grab ‘em by the pussy” when referring to women is soon to be the president of my country. I forget that a man who wants to build a physical wall to isolate an entire population is soon to be the president of my country. I forget a man who believes that global warming is a myth perpetuated by a foreign nation is soon to be the president of my country. And I forget that a man who was supported by the KKK, a vile and atrocious white supremacist group, is soon to be the president of my country.
Mr. Trump, you have, by some twist of fate, been given the opportunity to lead this country at a pivotal moment in our nation’s history. There is little I, or anyone else that vehemently opposes you, can do to stop your presidency. But we, as a collective community, will not stop to preserve the rights that have been so fervently fought for throughout this nation’s history.
I wish I had a better perception of you, Mr. Trump. But the truth is, I do not trust you. I do not have faith that you will lead this nation to greatness.
But above all, Mr. Trump, I hope, with all my heart, that you prove me wrong.