People are still upset by the result of the presidential election. World leaders rushed to congratulate Donald J. Trump on his win as the 47th president of the United States. Right wing leaders were overjoyed he was still in office, others congratulated him with dignity but perhaps not with as much glee.
“Those on the nationalist and euroskeptic end of the political spectrum are feeling energized; those on the left are no doubt tweeting through gritted teeth. Over in France, America’s oldest ally, the mood is conflicted: President Emmanuel Macron’s English tweet offering to “work together” with Trump was followed up by a French-language tweet stridently promising a stronger, more united Europe.”1
People on Faceboook are a little down or depressed. Kids were terrified to go to school the first time he was elected and now even more so. Doctors are concerned what the new administration could mean for them. Women are concerned for their own reproductive rights. People are concerned about his character and authoritarian manner. Gun violence prevention advocates know their hard work will fall on deaf ears. People on government assistance, like Medicaid, are worried they will suddenly have no health insurance, some will be left homeless or have no SNAP benefits. Teachers are concerned about the president-elect’s platform which calls for closing the Department of Education. Federal workers fear for their jobs if they do not show complete loyalty to the president-elect. The environment is at its greatest risk. Some people are even considering moving to another country. People around the world are thrilled that Trump won, others are confounded.
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“[As Trump’s win became more likely] I began to think of where I was the first time Trump got elected. I was a high school freshman who, for the very first time in my life, was openly trans at my school. I woke up that morning and when I found out the news I cried. I begged my parents not to make me go to school. I reflect on that day and wonder how it would be different now. How being a trans person in Florida is already difficult and how it would be so much worse if I were still in high school. I know about Project 2025 and how the safety of trans kids is in serious jeopardy. I’m concerned for them because I was one of them. I know how scary it is to be figuring yourself out while your government is denying who you are.”
Charlie Suor2
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“Some pediatricians are stunned by the possibility that vaccines proven to save kids’ lives could be banned in a second Trump administration.”3
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“‘Your body. Our choice’ and ‘We own your body now’ comments are starting to pour in,” Hannah Cor, advocate for women’s healing and liberation said in a post on the app.
“Men no longer have or be quiet in their hatred for women,” she claimed. “They can hate us out loud and lose nothing.”4
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Kelly said that based on his experience, Trump met the definition of a “fascist.”
In response to a question about whether he thought Mr. Trump was a fascist, Mr. Kelly first read aloud a definition of fascism that he had found online.
“Well, looking at the definition of fascism: It’s a far-right authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy,” he said.5
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“Brown said it won’t be the first pro-gun rights administration that has occupied the White House, adding that Trump’s previous four years in the Oval Office were marked by a “deadly period for Americans.” Among the mass shootings that occurred during Trump’s first term was the 2017 massacre at the Route 91 Harvest Festival music concert in Las Vegas that left 58 people dead and more than 850 people wounded; the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 students and staff; and the 2019 shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, that claimed 23 lives and injured nearly two dozen other people. … In February, Trump told NRA members at a forum in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, “No one will lay a finger on your firearms” during his second term in office.”6
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“I don’t have it in me to do the whole unbiased-journalist schtick—not that I ever really did—but it’s simply too bleak to even be able to pretend that this is anything other than the worst-case scenario. I’m too scared to perform. I was afraid in 2016 too—but eight years ago, we didn’t know what to expect. Now it’s the fear of what we already know, and the fear of what we can’t even imagine.”7
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“Mr. Trump also accused Vice President Kamala Harris of misleadingly claiming he was seeking to end Obamacare. “I never mentioned doing that, never even thought about such a thing,” he said in a post on Truth Social, a statement at odds with his longstanding efforts to weaken and overturn the law as president and his recent debate promise to propose an alternative approach.”8
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“The voters have spoken. While we hoped and fought for a different outcome, we respect both their will and the peaceful transfer of power,” Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, one of the largest teachers unions in the country, said in a Wednesday statement.
“At this moment, the country is more divided than ever, and our democracy is in jeopardy. Last night, we saw fear and anger win,” Weingarten said.
Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, the country’s largest labor union, said in a statement Wednesday that “this is not the outcome we campaigned for, nor the future we wanted for our students and families, but it is the road through history we now must travel.”9
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What Max Stier is most worried about is a return to a “spoils system” – where federal government employees are chosen based on their loyalty to the president, not their qualifications. That system, often associated with President Andrew Jackson, was outlawed in the 1880s.
“The consequences are so, so huge,” Stier says. “There’s nothing that comes close in the way of precedent.”
Robinson says that’s the greatest fear of many workers too: that they’ll be expected to put Trump over the people.
“The fear is not always will I be able to keep my job,” Robinson says. “If you keep a job, but you’re forced into doing things that you know are not appropriate, may violate law, may violate your conscience, or the mission of the agency – is that really a job that you want to keep?”
Robinson says there was a “brain drain” of workers under Trump – people “who did not have to stay and be tortured by whatever new fresh hell that came through.” Under Trump’s presidency, 14% more federal workers quit their jobs than under President Barack Obama, according to the Partnership for Public Service.10
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“But numerous experts worry that a second Trump term will be more damaging, with the United States withdrawing even further from climate efforts in a way that could cripple future presidents’ efforts. With Trump, who has dismissed climate change, in charge of the world’s leading economy, those experts fear other countries — especially top polluting nation China — could use it as an excuse to ease off their own efforts to curb carbon emissions.”11
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“As U.S. election exit polls began to point to a second presidency for Donald Trump, many Americans were already looking for another kind of exit: moving abroad.
Google searches for “move to Canada” surged 1,270% in the 24 hours after U.S. East Coast polls closed on Tuesday, company data shows. Similar searches about moving to New Zealand climbed nearly 2,000% while those for Australia jumped 820%.
Late Wednesday evening on the U.S. East Coast, Google searches about emigrating were hitting all-time highs for all three countries, according to a Google official.”12
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“BELGRADE—“I was the first, or among the first in the world, who congratulated Donald Trump on his victory. By around 6:00 a.m., I was already talking to people from his closest circle,” stated Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. He also said that Trump’s victory brings hope, at least with regard to Serbia, and that it will have a beneficial effect on global affairs. “In Europe, most people were hoping for Kamala Harris’s victory, while in Serbia, 90 percent of citizens were hoping for Donald Trump to win,” he said during his address.
“BRUSSELS—Here, the “man on the street” and mainstream media are surprised but not shocked. However, many are clearly puzzled and somewhat worried about the return of the former president. There is almost zero understanding of the US political system and how the two-party system works, and all they know about Vice President Kamala Harris is that she is not Trump.”13
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“Sometimes fear triumphs over hope.
Donald Trump’s shocking victory in the 2016 US presidential election was described as a leap into the political unknown. This time there is no excuse. America knew that he was a convicted criminal, serial liar and racist demagogue who four years ago attempted to overthrow the government. It voted for him anyway.”14
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However, in spite all of these and more scary things we must, as Muhammad Ali famously said, “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” We must tread lightly, but never let go of our passion, our sting, that we can make on this government. Stay in the country, don’t give, and never lose faith or hope.
Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1
I put part of this t-shirt up as Kamala floating away, but it has a new meaning, we rise to the sky singing in unison about the hope and faith of whatever or movement or fear is, because if we don’t, they win.
You can get this shirt from Amazon for $17.68. I plan on wearing mine on Veteran’s Day, November 11, because I find this shirt to be very patriotic, to let my voice be heard. And, as horrible as my voice is, I will sing if I need to, just like The Beatles (well, maybe not just like The Beatles).
CITATIONS
- Trump’s Euro Allies Are Defenseless Against MAGA ↩︎
- LGBTQ Youth React After Trump Wins the 2024 Presidential Election: “We Have to Keep Going” ↩︎
- Outbreaks of deadly illnesses could follow if anti-vaccine messages continue, doctors fear ↩︎
- ‘Your body, my choice’: Women report rise in online misogyny following Donald Trump’s victory ↩︎
- As Election Nears, Kelly Warns Trump Would Rule Like a Dictator ↩︎
- ‘Deeply troubling’: Gun-violence prevention groups react to Trump victory ↩︎
- How to Deal With the Worst-Case Scenario ↩︎
- Will Trump Have a New Opening to Repeal Obamacare? ↩︎
- Trump won the presidency. What does that mean for education? ↩︎
- What the Trump win might mean for federal workers in D.C. ↩︎
- Experts worry Trump’s second term will cripple efforts to stop climate change ↩︎
- After Trump’s win, many despondent Americans research moving abroad ↩︎
- What the world thinks of Trump’s return to the US presidency ↩︎
- To elect Donald Trump once may be regarded as a misfortune; to elect him twice looks like craziness ↩︎
“This is not a time to throw up our arms but to roll up our sleeves.”
Vice President Kamala Harris on November 6, 2024
Miriam Kavanagh
miriam5@ymail.com
Coffee & Writing 
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