Danae Floyd
*Articles reflect the views of the author and or those quoted and do not necessarily represent the views of CCBC or the CCBC Connection.
Well...the 2016 election is finally over. With an ending that many all over the world didn't expect. Donald J. Trump is America’s 45th president-elect.
Yes, that actually happened. No, we can’t get in a time machine and nominate Bernie Sanders instead of Hillary Clinton. And yes, Donald trump is our president for the next 4 years.
Just in case you feel like you need to relive that debacle, here's a recap.
March 23, 2015 unofficially began the 2016 election when Ted Cruz, a senator out of Texas formally threw his hat in in running for president. 16 other presidential hopefuls followed suit.
Decorum went out the window when Donald Trump announced his candidacy; we just hadn't realized it yet. The most memorable and controversial line from Mr. Trump’s speech was,“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
Things like this had been said before by republicans leading up to this point but they were always subliminal and rarely this blatantly generalizing and offensive.
Jeb Bush, brother to former president George W. Bush was thought to be the inevitable republican nominee. The former governor of Florida had the family name and a diverse family he built on his own, but proved to be “low energy” in the words of Donald Trump.
Unbelievably, Donald Trump pulled away in the race. As his opponents support dwindled, his nomination became a reality even with a historically low “favorability” rating.
On the other side, more than 3 candidates ran for the democratic nomination, but only 2 had successful runs. Senator Bernie Sanders simultaneously captivated the youth and working class vote with his proposals for income equality, free tuition at public universities and his consistent record on social issues.
Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton was an extremely qualified candidate, who seemed to be a shoo-in for president. Clinton had experience in all corridors of governmental power; she had been a US senator, a first lady, and Secretary of State to President Obama.
Clinton was plagued by federal investigation of her emails, speculation about unsavory ethics surrounding her foundation and a favorability rating, like Trumps, that was historically low.
Ultimately Clinton prevailed, although Sanders gave her a run for her money, winning 22 states in the primaries.
Nevertheless, these two unfavorable candidates became our nominees.
The candidates chose their respective running mates. Clinton chose Tim Kane, a senator from Virginia and Trump chose Mike Pence, governor of Indiana.
Fast forward to the presidential debates. Everyone thought Clinton would destroy Trump with facts, logic and demeanor, but Clinton played it cool never attacking back when Trump personally attacked her.
Tuesday, November 8th was Election Day. Millions of Americans walked into voting booths to cast their votes but in the end the Electoral College decided who the president would be. Trump getting 290 electoral votes and Clinton 232. However, as TIME reports, Clinton won the popular vote by 1.7 million.
It’s safe to say that many, many people did not expect Donald Trump to win. Maybe not even Donald Trump himself. Yet here we are. Two days after Trump’s electoral win President Obama invited President - elect Trump to the white house and ensured a smooth transfer of power.
No matter how you slice it, Donald trump led a hate filled campaign. He insulted everyone but White men on his way to the top. And there are real life consequences to spewing hate speech, hate crimes.
According to the southern poverty law center, as of November 18, there have been 701 “Incidents of hateful harassment since the election”. There is a clear line to be drawn between Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric and these incidents.
Donald J. Trump will be our president for, at least, the next 4 years. The question that we are all asking is will he be a president for all Americans, no matter race, religion, citizenship status, etc.? Or will he continue the ways of his campaign?
Only his actions and time will tell.
