I was in seventh grade when Donald Trump won his first presidential election.
Election Day in 2016 was treated like a holiday in my household. My mother went out to vote for Hillary Clinton, sporting a feminist tee shirt she got from Amazon. She took my sister and I to the polling place because we insisted on watching her vote for the first female president of the United States.
Everyone was too naive then to consider the possibility of a Trump victory. The news channels were always flooded with criticisms of his lack of political experience, harsh immigration policies and reruns of his Access Hollywood tape in which he made exploitative comments about women.
It felt like Democrats had put faith in the Republican Party then because Trump felt too radical to be considered for the nation’s highest office. But as the electoral map washed the swing states in red, fear and anguish rippled across half the nation.
I didn’t sleep the night of the 2024 election. Instead, after Trump’s victory was called, I stared at the ceiling and let my anxieties spiral.
I thought of my transgender friends who already struggle to receive their hormone treatments even in states with Democratic leadership. I thought about the young girls I teach at my local dance studio and how they’ll be raised with the grip of an iron legislative fist.
I remember how my mother, a third-grade teacher, came home in tears during Trump’s first presidency because she had to hug a student goodbye as he was whisked away to deportation court.
At 20 years old, it’s unfathomable to think that the United States is in the same position as it was when I was 12. After enduring four years of a Trump presidency and watching as he incited violence at the United States Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, I had faith in the American people to protect the principles of democracy that our most devout patriots hold dear.
For months leading up to Election Day, I was confident in Kamala Harris’ ability to deliver a winning campaign. The campaign ran with the commonplace ideas of love, progress and unity, all while trying to appeal to women, workers and college voters.
Beyonce’s “Freedom” was the soundtrack Democrats walked to as they clung to the hope that empathetic messaging would suppress pure hatred. Harris took the moral route as Trump broadcasted incendiary transphobic attacks and aired advertisements blaming immigration for every American plight.
The severity of Trump’s politics never seemed to affect how Democrats resisted. The suffocating bigotry radiating from his campaign was only ever countered with optimism and aspiration. The Democratic Party sold Americans the fantasy that positivity could spar evenly with fascism.
In the aftermath of Trump’s victory, countless analysts released long think pieces illustrating the failure of the Harris campaign and how she could have swayed more voters. But instead of placing the blame on a singular person or entity, I can’t help but think the results are indicative of a larger issue.
Despite Harris’ unwavering support for unions and young families, the working class saw more opportunity on the side of the billionaires in suits. Trump’s campaign was run on the deceptive promise of blue-collar success, resulting in the majority of his voters being from the blue-collar class.
A consistent strategy in the Trump campaign was to strawman the Biden economy by preying on the monetary insecurities of American workers. He insisted that any semblance of economic glory was in shreds and that only he could liberate the common man.
Despite his promises, it’s implausible for Trump to hold the hands of the proletariat and cross the imaginary finish line. In his first term, Trump’s tariffs cost the United States 250,000 jobs and contributed significantly to the national deficit.
Trump promises to implement more tariffs on foreign imports in his next term, which prompted a letter signed by 16 Nobel economists saying it would only contribute to inflation. He also charged his xenophobic rhetoric on illegal immigrants, which ignores the vitality of immigration to American innovation and manufacturing.
The working class made a God of the world’s greatest conman. In return, he will discard them once he no longer needs their vote. It hurts to see my comrades sipping from his cupped hands.
Trump was successful in crafting devout followers who hung onto his words like a sermon. He divided families and severed relationships all in the name of gaining political power. Thus, the subordinate classes are more divided than ever which I fear was his intention all along.
It feels like the left is fighting against an issue much larger than one politician or party. We watched as Trump let abhorrent commentary echo through rallies, all while people cheered and overlooked prejudice as a damning quality.
Trump’s acceptance into the political sphere is far more dangerous than ignorance. It’s instead symptomatic of the racism and misogyny baked into the foundation of the United States that continues to be ignored.
I often fear that all of America’s progress was temporary. While the Constitution was amended and civil rights were delivered, unfathomable hate festered underneath the surface begging for a release. Trump provides the opportunity for bigotry to emerge from the shadows it once felt shamed into.
As author Joan Didion wrote, “Our favorite people and our favorite stories become so not by any inherent virtue, but because they illustrate something deep in the grain, something unadmitted.”
The country now stands in the wreckage Trump created and picking up the pieces seems a more daunting task than ever. In the years to come, the subjugation of marginalized people is ensured and it feels like we’re hopeless in trying to stop it. I’m desperate to fight for the ones I love, but it’s hard not to feel defeated with your body pinned to the ground.
Be the first to comment