Since the moment the 2016 presidential campaign began, inflammatory rhetoric about immigrants, minorities and terrorism flew across the proverbial aisle. Fear dominated the campaign.
Donald Trump catapulted to Republican stardom, snapping up primary elections as the world watched with disbelief and trepidation. We wrung our hands and convinced ourselves that someone, somehow, would stop the accusations, misrepresentations and fear-mongering. No one did.
The Republican nomination was handed to Trump, and those of us who refused to support him either begrudgingly stood with Hillary Clinton or found solace in a third-party candidate.
It wasn’t enough.
In 72 days, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the next president of the United States. A man who mocked a reporter with a disability, brazenly referred to Latinx and Middle Eastern immigrants as criminals and rapists on multiple occasions and waxed poetic about “[grabbing women] by the pussy” will enter the Oval Office, and a new era of American politics will begin.
Those of us who have expressed concerns with Trump since he announced his candidacy have nothing to look forward to. We don’t think Clinton is perfect, but she also has not openly threatened to eliminate LGBTQ rights, accused President Obama of founding ISIS, been accused of raping a 13-year-old girl, encouraged violence against journalists, chosen a running mate who supports conversion therapy for LGBTQ youth, called numerous women “fat” and “ugly,” accused China of inventing global warming for political gain, threatened another candidate’s wife — the list goes on. It will continue to do so for the next four years.
There are bright spots we can look to in our nation’s election results. Positive measures for criminal justice reform passed readily in Oklahoma — though education funding did not. In Maricopa County, Arizona’s notorious Sheriff Joe Arpaio was finally ousted. Early voter turnout was strong across the country thanks to women and Latinx voters.
When it came down to the moment of decision, the electoral map spoke definitively. The ramifications of its statement, however, have left us shaken. By no means is every member of The Daily staff a staunch Clinton supporter.
However, many of us are women. Some of us are people of color. Others are members of the LGBTQ community. All of us in the newsroom on Tuesday night became increasingly withdrawn as Trump’s delegate count surged ahead and the reality of a Trump presidency set in.
We worry that President-elect Trump has given way to normalizing racism, sexism and hate. Even if Clinton had logged the most stunning comeback in electoral history, the numbers don’t disappear: Almost half of American voters validated the baseless vitriol on which Trump has constructed his political empire.
Our concerns and the concerns of our friends are tangible and urgent. For women of color, reporters and protesters of all stripes who saw people who look like them aggressively mistreated and literally shoved out of Trump rallies, the fear of bodily harm and emotional despair is real, and it is immediate.
How will a Trump administration preserve healthcare access? How will it tackle poverty? Racism? Police brutality? The wage gap? Paid family leave? Immigration? LGBTQ rights?
How will America be great when America has voted to effectively ostracize its most vulnerable citizens?
Where do we go from here? We don’t have an answer yet. All we can do is advocate fiercely for progress, compassion and the daring imagination that has sustained visions of a truly inclusive American dream.
From Jan. 20, 2017, on, we, the American people, are our only hope.
