Dear President-Elect Donald J. Trump,
First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your presidential win. Although I may not be completely pleased with the outcome, you deserve some congratulations. You won fair and square, but I hope you know what you’re getting into.
Being the president of the United States is no easy task. Just looking at President Obama’s graying hair stresses me out, and I’m sure it’ll be so much worse for you. I hate to tell you this, but I don’t think you’d look that great with white hair because you’ll look flushed all the time. However, while I’ll gladly talk about your hair and the toupee debate surrounding it, that’s not what this letter is about.
A lot of people (approximately 323 million) are going to be counting on you for these next four years, myself included. As of January, you will arguably be the most important person in the United States. You’ve got big shoes to fill, that’s for sure. Every decision you make will be praised or criticized by the entire public. While you managed to put on a brave face during your presidential campaigning, will you be able to keep it up for almost half a decade?
I want you to know that I’m not going to oppose you during your presidency. As an avid “Feel the Bern” supporter and a later “I’m With Her” supporter, I don’t agree with much of what you would like to do as president. However, the fact that my (and many others’) political beliefs don’t agree with yours doesn’t mean that I should fight every decision you make these next four years. Like it or not, this country works better when its people are united, not divided. Social media protests such as #notmypresident are great in theory, but they’ll lead to a split nation, which isn’t what the United States was built on.
During your presidency, please try to put yourself in the shoes of the American public. Most aren’t business owners, real-estate moguls, television stars, or billionaires. Just take a few minutes to imagine how scary these election results might be to someone who’s not like you. Women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and immigrants are terrified, and I can’t blame them. The rights and freedoms that they have fought for decades to earn have been threatened, and the future seems extremely scary right now. This is not directly your fault, President-Elect Trump. Feelings of hatred and fear have been around long before you were, and they’ll likely exist long after. However, as president, you should try your best to diminish these fears. While your stances on the economy and healthcare are very important, most people are looking to see what you will do in regards to social reform. I personally am holding you accountable in this sense.
While I’m very hesitant to accept your presidency, I do have faith in you. I hope you know that. If you were able to convince half of the country that you really will “Make America Great Again,” then who would I be to outright deny your abilities? I hope that the job market increases because of you, that healthcare is affordable and available because of you, and that personal freedoms increase because of you. Although you certainly aren’t like a typical presidential candidate (or at least like the ones that I’ve seen in my lifetime), I’m not going to reject you as president before you even enter office. Call me crazy, but maybe you won’t be as bad as people think you will be. This might sound dumb, a 19-year-old college freshman giving advice to the future president. However, I think you need to hear this: I trust you to run this country, and so will most Americans (given some time).
Here is one final piece of advice for you, and this is probably the most important advice I could give you. Please, no matter what happens these next four years, do not screw this up. I beg of you, don’t make this country worse off.
Views do not reflect Her Campus Wisconsin or the University of Wisconsin.