In the early hours of Wednesday morning, something happened that a lot of people were not expecting.
It was a night I don't think I am likely to forget for some time. The elation and confidence of the Clinton campaign crumbled bit by bit as the results began to roll in. There was confusion, amazement and shock. People stared at television screens in disbelief as more and more states turned red. Whereas beforehand people had been discussing Trump's narrow and unlikely route to victory, the tables rapidly turned, with commentary switching to whether Hillary could possibly come back from the intimidating red that was aggressively invading the space predicted to sway her way.
The pollsters didn't expect it, the media didn't expect it, pretty sure Hillary didn't expect it and even Trump himself looked a little taken aback as the news came in.
The United States, come January 20th will welcome President Donald Trump into the White House.
I personally feel as though I have some backtracking to do myself. In my latest post, I announced with confidence that the 'GOP is in tatters'. With a Republican president, a Republican House and a Republican Senate, I think that it is fair to say that this is no longer the case. Nevertheless, this is not to say that the Republican party doesn't have some challenges ahead of them. Trump has said told the American population he will do a lot of things, and although the GOP is happily gloating in their unexpected success, a lot of promises have been made that will be difficult to keep.
Washington D.C. is like a ghost town. People walk around with strained faces, and speak in hushed tones about the state of affairs. Sympathetic smiles are exchanged with passersby before eyes return to dejectedly to the pavement. It is as if a national disaster has occurred, and the tone does not mimic what one would expect following an election that produced a clear winner. There have been protests, but they have not turned violent. After all, what is there to fight about in a nation that voted overwhelmingly in favor of the same candidate?
My big learn from this election, is that I have been living in a liberal bubble. I thought I had a solid understanding of the election, having followed it avidly in the news since my arrival in the US, studied it in my classes and discussed it with my friends. I thought that, being in a city that is one of the major political hubs of the world, I was pretty clued up on what was going on. But it turns out I, like many others, got it wrong. I have come to see something that I knew all along but had somehow come to neglect: the view of the US population cannot be equated to the concentration of the educated and politically active individuals that inhabit the city in which I find myself. The US is vast, and some people obviously feel that the system is not working for them. The people have spoken, and so the question is...where do we go from here?
I have spoken to people in tears, convinced that this is an end to the rights that the US has fought for, to the progress that has been achieved. I have spoken to people who are scared. People who want to get out of the US- one woman who has begun an application for German citizenship, having given up her German nationality for an American passport when she was 17 years old. I have spoken to people who are angry, who have rushed to the White House in protest, yelling "Not My President" while waving anti-Trump signs. And I have also spoken to people who are accepting, who were not expecting the election to go this way, but are looking to the future rather than the past.
This whole election cycle has been nasty and cruel, and for some, the result pushed them over the edge. Trump exposed sentiment and resentment in American society that many were not aware existed. He did not brainwash people to vote for him, they have voted for him because he voiced their opinions, concerns and they feel he should have a stab at presidency. He has exposed a discontent in society, and his success has demonstrated that a large proportion of the population do not think that "America is Already Great", and so have decided to back an anti-establishment, change candidate, who represents everything but the conventional way of doing things. The silent majority has spoken, and in order to accept the fundamental essence of a democracy, people need to stop pushing back and accept the result for what it is. Hillary has done so, in her heartfelt concession speech, where she encouraged people to "accept this result and look to the future". Obama has also done so, welcoming Trump into his house and in doing so, exposing his own legacy in exchange for a dignified compliance of the peaceful transition of power.
Soon President Trump will become a reality, that's how democracy works. We need to stop looking for loopholes and people to blame. We need to stop writing off half of society as uneducated, racists who voted for the 'wrong' candidate. We were expecting white educated men to turn out and vote for Trump, but few foresaw 42% of women voting in his favor, or having more support among the black and hispanic demographic than Romney had had four years previously. Trump won with 290 electoral votes, capturing Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan... battleground states all predicted to swing in Clinton's favor. It was unexpected, and Trump's election disproves some previously held beliefs about how to effectively campaign and capture voter sentiment. Why are people in the US so anti-establishment? How can these grievances be addressed? How can the government look to improve the lives of people who were so disillusioned with the current state of affairs that they chose to back a complete outsider with very limited political experience?
America needs to emerge from this as a stronger nation. The two parties must move closer together instead of letting themselves be pulled apart by political polarization. America should be represented as a whole. Both sides of the spectrum need to seek to understand one another and see from the others perspective. This is the only way America can move forward from this as a dignified and united nation.
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