The Shock of Trump
An air of grievance overwhelmed our campus yesterday. We gathered in the church to hear Matt Miller discuss masculinity, white supremacy and violent men; we exchanged hugs on the paths; classes closed their doors and stepped away from the white boards to weep and sigh. As Duncan Holcomb told his fiction class, “There is an elephant in the room.” In January, that elephant will sit down in the oval office, a fact that scares and shocks The Exonian’s Editorial Board. But we must not simply mourn. Our shock proves our separation from the many Americans who support Trump and validates their claim that they have been forgotten in government. Our shock also affirms our status as a campus comprised of privileged students, most of whom are white. Those who leave this election less surprised are Americans of color, who are so used to decisions that ignore and hurt them that this is just another to throw on the pile. Our surprise is our privilege. However, this election isn’t something we should grow accustomed to.
We feel shocked because Exeter’s mask of liberal elitism has blinded us to the reality of white America’s demands.
Most of our editors were “with her.” But now we need to be with America, every part of it. We need to peacefully let Trump become president, but we also need to be with everyone who feels or is disenfranchised by him. Because we cannot listen to a whiter, more rural population and ignore those who have faced oppression for so long.
Like shocking news from a doctor, the election can serve as a national check-up. Many of us did not know or did not believe that nearly half of voting Americans were willing, or even enthusiastic, to support a candidate who has run a campaign so vastly different, unrestrained and unprecedented from those we have seen in our country in the past. So many have taken to social media to voice their incredulity. Incredulity in the face of polls that flipped before our eyes is fair. But the movement to denounce Trump entirely is not. The hashtag “#notmypresident” does not facilitate and honor the peaceful transition of power. He is now the president for every citizen of our country and any onlooker from around the world. These votes came from Americans.
We feel shocked because Exeter’s mask of liberal elitism has blinded us to the reality of white America’s demands. If the country has called for Trump, then his presidency is legitimate. However, it is upsetting to realize that a vast section of our population is willing to brush off his disrespect for minorities and women. If an over-qualified female candidate can not beat a man with more than a dozen sexual assault allegations under his belt, then the ceiling is not made of a material like glass. But this is not news. It is simply an affirmation that progress we hoped had occurred and was under our belts, is not, in fact, achieved.
The fact that the executive power, the Senate and the House of Representatives is in the power of a single party will undoubtedly have serious impacts on legislation in coming years. Merrick Garland has been blocked from a seat on the Supreme Court, meaning the next nominees will be Republican and sympathetic to conservative causes. This election also marks the second time in the past four presidential elections that the winner of the popular vote has not won enough electoral college votes to become president.
Trump’s actions as president probably will not align with his campaign’s promises. He said what would appeal to the demographic he was targeting, and it is hard to predict what he truly believes. But this unpredictability is terribly dangerous, too. No matter what happens, we have to respect the results of the election in order to preserve whatever vestiges remain of our democracy.