America’s Reaction to the 2016 Election

Hillary Clinton was predicted to win the 2016 presidential election over the past few months. As voters rushed to cast their votes, they strongly believed that she would become the first female president. Unfortunately, the outcome was not as predicted and Donald Trump dominated the election, causing November 8^th to be the day that large amounts of American citizens became afraid of the United States’ future leader.

The majority of younger generations, as well as females, minorities, and those in the LGBTQ community, have been voicing their opinions through protests and social media. Large amounts of people are both disgusted and afraid to be an American due to the results. A young female voter, Noura Al-Rajhi, commented, “I’m disgusted to live in a country that decided to pick a man who has no experience whatsoever in the government and who has targeted minorities, women, a

whole religion, etc., over a woman who has 40+ years of knowledge and wasn’t picked because of her emails.” This describes the feelings of large numbers of diverse people throughout the country. Another Clinton supporter who was not able to vote, Hannah Potter, said, “I’m glad that people are sticking up for themselves and defending what’s right.”

The election outcome does not only impact the lives of those threatened by Trump’s policies, but also others who strongly believe that he is not fit to be a leader. Brandon Miller, a Clinton supporter who did not find the Trump campaign’s misogynist rhetoric appealing, states, “Obviously I am kind of sad about the outcome because Hillary did receive the popular vote and had more votes overall. The electoral college’s vote is supposed to be for the people, but over time has formed into something completely different. There’s nothing I can do about it now though. I really don’t like Donald Trump, but if we want to move forward as a country we need to be open minded.” Various other people have thought of the electoral college in a negative way, and the disappointment of American citizens has been portrayed powerfully throughout the nation.

The 2016 election can easily be described as one that shocked many people in the United States. It has caused protests and created a sense of fear for many Americans. Although this election has caused a major separation between people of the United States, the only way to truly get through the next four years is to rejoin as a country and become one nation once again.