The Opinions Department’s Reactions To November 5

What was your reaction to the 2024 election results?

I went to sleep before the results came out because I figured it would be more exciting to wake up to a new president as opposed to watching a slow, hours-long crawl to 270 electoral votes. When I woke up, I was pretty surprised and disappointed to hear that Trump won. However, I was pretty happy to hear that Proposition One passed in New York, ending the bitter night off sweetly.

• Mace Elinson, Sophomore

I went to my neighbor’s apartment for an election-watching party. Around midnight, I urged my tired mother—who had just returned from helping get out the vote in Pennsylvania—to go to sleep, so she could have seven more hours of peace. Things already seemed pretty grim, but, laying in bed, my eyes were glued to The New York Times app on my phone. I went to sleep at 1:00 a.m.—about 10 minutes after Georgia was called. The results seemed inevitable at that point. I woke up to a 6:40 a.m. alarm, and I think I’d momentarily forgotten about the election—although, I’d dreamed of sitting in a subway car where everyone was celebrating with songs and balloons—so my stomach dropped when I saw the notification right after I turned off the alarm. I’ve never been on a quieter train during rush hour; the only noise that morning was a man crying in his seat. I didn’t hear anyone say his name at school all day, just “They’ve got the Senate;” “They’ll get the House;” and “They’re going to get all three branches of the government.” While watching Harris’s concession speech after school with my team, students all around me were tearing up.

• Ushoshi Das, Senior

Compared to the feeling of being at a watch party, sitting in a circle with people and getting to know them and their work, checking my phone on November 6 when it wasn’t even daylight outside, my math homework lifeless in front of me, I felt really, really numb. Why would a result like this happen when there was so much kindness in how the people I know treat each other? How could we elect someone who acts so differently from those feelings? That contradiction helped me realize that I have a really narrow view of the world because of the people I surround myself with. Especially when campaigns are built so strongly around human interaction, understanding, and addressing the very personal connections people have with the issues on the ballot, it made no sense to me that something as strong as this didn’t win. 

• Adeline Sauberli, Senior

I was really upset and honestly surprised at the margin he won by. I think I am a little desensitized to the whole thing because my most immediate reaction was about how this ruined parts of my debate case. The actual implications set in way later.

• Amani Kaushal, Sophomore

I stayed up all of Tuesday night watching the electoral college maps until around two in the morning, when I got too tired and anxious to see any more. When I woke up, the first thing I searched up was the election, and I saw that Trump had reached 270 electoral votes. I felt my heart sink as I sat on my bed, and I stared at my phone for around 20 minutes, just soaking in everything that this meant.

• Alexa Leahy, Junior

What is historic about this election?

Obviously, re-electing a president for a nonconsecutive term and electing a convicted felon as president. More earth shattering is racial and age depolarization. Trump’s path to the White House did not come from white voters—who trended slightly towards Harris—but from voters of color and young voters, where the margin was greater. These demographics violated the norms our politics have historically abided by, creating many consequences in terms of future elections. 

• Muhib Muhib, Senior

This election is the first time a Black and South Asian woman has been the presidential nominee for both major parties. It also felt more divisive than others in American history. So much was riding on it, and most Americans disagreed severely on almost every important topic. Trump won all the swing states and now controls the Supreme Court, and the Republican Party won the Senate with the House likely to soon follow. It’s rare to have a government completely under one party, and I wonder how that will affect the checks and balances we have put in place to make sure that governmental power isn’t abused. 

• Stella Krakja, Sophomore

It is pretty interesting and definitely surprising to see Donald Trump come back to office after losing, decisively, four years ago and becoming a remarkably infamous figure, with proven rape and sexual assault allegations and his overall combative personality. I don’t think it's good for a president of the United States to be controversial; I would much prefer a bland one over a president who puts their own interests ahead of the people their party represents. 

• Mace Elinson, Sophomore

Trump has only won against women. It makes me wonder when the United States will be ready for a female president. Wednesday was a very dark day; I don’t think I’ve ever seen everyone feel so much like giving up before. New York did not feel this despondent even during the pandemic.

• Ushoshi Das, Senior

What will four years of our next president look like?

I am cautiously calm about the next four years. Although on character, President-Elect Trump may be a step backwards for our nation, he does not have the power to enact a majority of the potentially harmful policies against marginalized communities that some have predicted. For me, the most impactful damage is the polarization we have already seen. I agree with President Biden when he states that, “You can’t love your country only when you win.” Fighting hard for your candidate is admirable, but abandoning and chastising your country when they lose an election is unpatriotic. If you are upset about the results of the 2024 Election, channel that into presenting a fair, outspoken opposition and balance to Republicans; that is the democratic way.

• Myles Vuong, Junior and Opinions Editor

I’m a little scared. It’s too soon to tell, for certain, exactly what Trump will do in office—he’s always prided himself on being unpredictable. However, I know he will most likely withdraw from the Paris Agreement, which, given that it was 80 degrees on November 6, I find a little worrying. Trump also threatened to leave NATO during his first term, and I hope he doesn’t follow through with that. I’m worried about his deportation policies and derogatory attitude toward women, and I’m afraid he’ll find a way to outlaw abortion throughout the country. Trump has also said that he would use the army against his “enemies” within the U.S. and that he’d “be a dictator on Day One” of his second term. While there are many laws that make sure that the president cannot govern in an authoritarian way, laws tend to bend to the will of whoever is making them.

• Stella Krakja, Sophomore

I’ve given up.

• Nabiha Islam, Sophomore

It’s going to be rough, but as of right now, it’s just annoying. The 72 million people who voted for him either don’t know the harm they’ve caused or don’t care. It’s disgusting how people would vote for a convicted felon before voting for a woman. What’s more annoying is that they’re happy the economy is going to get “better.” Ironically, it’s the same thing as Trump inheriting Obama’s economy, which Obama pulled out of the mud after the Great Recession. Biden doesn’t really get the credit he deserves for pulling America out of the downturn due to COVID-19. Our economic indicators are better than most of the other world powers who were just as badly affected. Yet, the people prioritized their eggs costing too much over the 22,000 sexual assault victims denied access to abortions every year. What’s more funny is people don’t understand how tariffs work. Trump increasing tariffs means the average cost of goods is going to go up, because you eventually pay for the tariffs, not the company or the country importing them. He has some tax cuts for the middle class, but 83 percent of his plan is for those who make more than half a million. The trickle-down effect is fake; it has historically never worked. Hope for the people of Palestine also seems to be gone. Trump is likely to give Netanyahu even more leeway—he won’t question Israel’s operations or put pressure on them to end the war. I think he won because people just want to be fed a story. “Things are bad now, right? I’ll make them good.” It doesn’t matter what else he says; it doesn’t matter if he has concepts of a plan or how atrociously he talks about women and migrants; people wanted to go back. So, I hope they get exactly what they voted for.

• Khandaker Mushfikuzzaman, Senior

I do feel very politically apathetic regarding everything going on, and it isn’t that I don’t have feelings about political and social issues; it’s just that I acknowledge that I can’t be right about everything I politically believe. My opinions are heavily influenced by my circumstances and experiences, and just because I believe one thing doesn’t mean I can’t understand someone else’s perspective. Just because the election didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to doesn’t mean I am not able to look at the future with optimism. In the weeks leading up to November, America became extremely politically polarized, with both sides claiming that the other’s victory would mark the end of American democracy as we know it. Just as we have learned to be religiously tolerant in the modern age, we can also learn to be politically tolerant and accept beliefs that are within reason, even ones we deem radical.

• Mace Elinson, Sophomore