The reaction of a nation
November 29, 2016
On November 8, 2016, history was made as Republican nominee Donald Trump was elected the next president of the United States of America. Overall, he was given 290 electoral votes, while Clinton ended the race with 232. However, for the fifth time in history, the popular vote did not coincide with the electoral vote, as Clinton won the popularity by approximately 1%.
Trump’s unexpected victory, however, was determined to be the result of silent majorities within swing states who were not counted in earlier, predictive polls. The ridiculously small difference that determined where the electoral votes would go has pushed the Hillary campaign to call for a recount in these swing states. She joins Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who has already raised millions to challenge the determined numbers one more time.
Trump dismisses this effort as a “scam” by the Green Party, saying “the election is over,” and “nothing will change.” His statements on the matter have not changed the minds of Clinton’s campaign team, who are still pursuing the recount of Wisconsin’s ballots by December 13, in which Trump had narrowly won the electoral vote in November by 27,000 ballots.
In the early days following the election, more radical reactions in response to the results have been expressed as well across the nation. Protesters took to the streets of major cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, as mass crowds chanted, “Not my president!” Some of these protests escalated to a high degree of violence and noncooperation, such as in Portland and Atlanta, and local authorities were forced to denounce the protests as riots.
Reports of hate crimes against minorities within America have also increased since Trump’s win. Students in a Washington State school chanted, “Build a wall” during lunch, “Black lives don’t matter and neither does your votes” was found spray painted on a wall, and the phrase, “Heil Trump” was painted on a church in Indiana. However, several of the more violent allegations were proven to be hoaxes. In response to these hateful actions, Trump said in an interview with Lesley Stahl on CBS’s 60 Minutes, “I am so saddened…I say, ‘Stop it.’”
There have also been numerous reports of Trump supporters being attacked and assaulted, as seen in the YouTube video of a white Trump supporter being beaten by two black men, and this is not the only incident of people being attacked merely for the determination of their vote.
But it is the undocumented immigrant population in America whose fear of deportation has grown under Trump’s presidency. However, Trump refers primarily to “criminal aliens” within his statements, or non-citizens and green-card holders who have been convicted of a crime in the United States. In his interview with Lesley Stahl, Trump stated, “What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers…we’re getting them out of our country they’re here illegally.” Under Trump’s immigration policies, he intends to continue to “protect the economic well-being of lawful immigrants already living” in America^1.
The election of Trump has already made a mark in history, and his presidency has yet to even begin. Only time will tell how this new president will lead and where he will take our divided nation.