Clearly, I’ve been living in a liberal, anti-Trump bubble for the past couple of months because I swore the 47th president-elect of the United States would be Vice President Kamala Harris. However, on Jan. 20, 2025, Donald J. Trump will be inaugurated into the White House, again. With 312 electoral votes and 50.3% of the popular votes, President-elect Trump won the 2024 elections against Vice President Harris’ 226 electoral votes and 48.1% of the popular vote. Not only that, but the Republicans have won the race for control of the House and Senate.
Despite Vice President Harris’s qualifications, having served as a district attorney, attorney general, and senator for California, she ended up losing largely due to, what many Americans viewed as, President Joe Biden’s failed presidency. Although it was inevitable for Vice President Harris to be linked to President Biden’s actions throughout their term, that, and his late exit from the race, restricted Harris substantially. It also didn’t help that Trump’s campaign largely emphasized strengthening the U.S. economy, which the Biden administration failed to fix, leaving many Americans to economically struggle under the effects of inflation. This gave Trump a slight, but significant, advantage amongst low income and middle class voters.
What does Donald Trump’s win in the 2024 elections mean to Americans? Despite the supposed good and winning point of reducing inflation, he is planning to attack immigrants, the education system, transgender individuals, climate, and more. Not only that, he will use his position to prevent federal cases against him from going through, and pardon his supporters and their actions on Jan. 6. We can all act like he will be as inefficient as he was in his first term as president, however, things are different now. With all three branches of government practically on his side, and a little more experience under his belt, he knows what he needs to do. And we are beginning to see his strategy come together with the people he has appointed as members of his Cabinet and staff. Trump is picking individuals with an emphasis on loyalty rather than expertise in their appointed positions, making sure there are no obstacles in the way of him enacting his agenda. He does not want another slew of former Cabinet members who speak out against his actions.
We need to understand the true implications of his presidency, because he is in a position that will allow him to truly enact his agenda. As it relates to us, University students, Trump claims that he will be taking money from private colleges who do not agree with his agenda, and plans to generally have a stronger federal hold over them. Diversity, equity, and inclusion staff have been one of his bigger targets, and he is trying to remove them from schools and government institutions. Trump has also stated that he is trying to prevent transgender students from participating in sports. He also plans to reverse Biden’s protection of transgender students under Title IX. What does Kamala Harris’ loss in the 2024 elections mean to Americans? It is hard to see another prominent female candidate for president lose against Trump, whether her being a woman of color had any weight on people’s votes against her. It is extremely discouraging for the millions of women, and specifically the women of color, to watch Americans not have faith in Kamala Harris, a woman of color, to lead this country. But what can we truly do? We aren’t going to follow in the footsteps of MAGA Capitol rioters — we actually believe in democratic elections. We also aren’t just going to stand by as we watch Trump rise into presidency and threaten Americans and the democracy we exist within.
I think Kamala Harris said it best in her concession speech, “Sometimes the fight takes a while.” We should not completely give up on the issues we care about. If you care, continue fighting in any way you can. Continue to emphasize the importance of voting in elections, whether it is on a national or local level, and put the people who will represent you and the things you care about into office. Honestly, keep Donald Trump in check. Continue to focus on the actions he is taking and promoting as the president, and fight back. And be there for yourself and for others. Build yourself a community, people you can turn to and talk to about the things going on. And bring a sense of community for other people, be there for the people around you and be someone that people can come to. Put all eyes on Donald Trump — he is not above the law.
