By Ariana Fromm
On Nov. 6, 2024, it was announced that Donald Trump had won the presidential election, becoming the 47th president of the United States. It was a shock for most, and I was among them.
Watching the election that night, seeing the results for each state, whether red or blue, and waiting for the rest of the states to finish voting and counting their votes, was nerve-wracking. My roommates and I were up most of the night waiting to see if the new president would be announced. We thought that Vice President Kamala Harris had a chance to win — to make history as not only the first woman but the first woman of color to become president.
Learning that we still had to wait on a few states meant that we weren’t going to know that day, and I had some hope, as it seemed like the last-minute voters were young. However, the next day, I found out that Donald Trump won, and he won by 86 electoral votes. A part of me felt like this nation had a chance to make history, but instead, it seems like most people want to repeat history.
Reflecting on Harris’ platform, I really thought she was going to have a good chance of winning because of how strong her supporters were for things such as abortion rights, healthcare, climate change, and social equality. Harris ran her candidacy wanting to fight for equal rights and a chance to leave this world a better place for the next generation; Trump ran his candidacy wanting to better the economy, limit immigration policies, and not do anything to fight against climate change. The only thing that I believe Trump will be good at is trying to fix the economy because I know he is a businessman, but other than that, I’m scared for what this world is going to look like after his inauguration ceremony on Jan. 20, 2025.
I don’t know how Trump won the election or how he was even able to run as a convicted felon of 34 counts. He was even impeached twice, first in 2019 for abuse of power and obstruction and then again in 2021 for inciting the Capitol insurrection. The fact that he could run makes it feel like if someone is famous enough or has enough money, they can get away with anything.
The thing that interests me about Trump is how he can influence people. One of the things I was worried about if Harris won was what Trump would have done. I remember when he lost to Joe Biden, and he posted on X, causing many people to storm the capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. It seems that Trump has made a following that is willing to do anything that he says, and that day proved it. So I could only imagine what Trump would have said or done if he had lost to a woman.
I think that most people who voted for Trump are blind to reality because they don’t realize how his term can hurt society and will cause limitations on people’s rights. One of the things Trump plans on doing is implementing Project 2025. This guide has proposals where he plans to reduce the federal government, take control of immigration policies, and reduce climate change regulations. I think many people, mostly women, are worried about what will happen to their rights once Trump and his Cabinet take office.
It feels like the U.S. missed a chance to move forward instead of choosing to move back. With Trump’s second term starting soon, I worry about the changes ahead, mostly for women and marginalized groups who would have benefited from Harris’ presidency. I think people are too afraid to see what a woman in power can do and it shows. People need to realize that Donald Trump being president hurts our country more than it helps.
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Photo courtesy of Wikimedia.
