My Post-Election Jeebies

Written by an Intern

Have you ever watched a horror film, then proceeded to go to bed immediately after? Flashing images, black and white. Blood. Screaming, smiling, devilish faces stare at you from all around. Maybe they jump at you. These memories of the movie flash to the front of your mind. Because of this, it’s hard to close your eyes and rest. You constantly look around, reassuring yourself that you’re hallucinating. You shut your eyes, trying to sleep through the horror.

Then you wake up, and you realize you were a fool, blinded by recency bias and paranoia.

On November 5th, We the People of the United States, apparently in order to form a more perfect union, voted Donald J. Trump to the highest commanding power in the nation. President-Elect Trump will take the oath of office on January 20, where he will immediately receive the power accompanying the presidential position. He will replace Joseph R. Biden, the current President of the United States, who defeated Trump in the 2020 election.

We know this already. It’s only on every news headline, every Twitter (sorry, X) post, and in everyone’s Instagram stories.

But what’s the real gravity behind what’s just happened?

On election day, Americans received a choice: one that’s granted to all Americans over the age of 18 under the 26th Amendment. And we chose Trump: a convicted felon. A man who quite literally started his career in criminal fashion when he was sued for alleged discrimination towards a family, whom his company refused to rent out a hotel room for. A man who has banned Muslims from entering the country, separating families in the process even years later.

A leader is someone who can see room for improvement, someone who can rally people to work towards a better vision. President-Elect Trump can definitely rally: Make America Great Again? Owning the support of billionaires, international leaders, and minority groups—groups that he has expressed racism and prejudice towards? He’s doing something right.

But problem-solving? Seeing room for improvement? Trump’s first term has, if anything, fortified the motive to keep him out of office.

Trump left the biggest deficit in US history, and the deficit expanded expeditiously in comparison to his successor, Biden. National debt rose by 7.8 trillion to 28 trillion under his presidency.
Trump incited a riot, claiming he won the 2020 election when dozens on dozens of courts have proven otherwise. These riots injured around 100 police officers, and Trump waited hours before speaking out against the riots, allowing for rioters to get their message out and threaten the “democrat” in democracy.
Trump picked fights with close allied powers while glorifying leaders such as Vladimir Putin of Russia and Kim Jong Un of North Korea.
Under Trump, hate crimes increased by 28% across the country.
While Trump left office with a job deficit of 3 million jobs, Biden has added 16 million jobs since his term began.
Relaxation of gun laws under his presidency attributes to a 30% increase in murders.

Did I mention Trump, a man who speaks about unity based on values of family, has both cheated on his wives multiple times and has been convicted of sexual abuse recently in 2023?

I liked this post I saw on Instagram: “We ask women why they don’t come forward when sexually assaulted. It’s because we live in a world where an abuser can become president”—(@hasslofficial). It’s crazy to me how we would rather have a convicted felon in office than a woman.

Now, I do understand people’s concerns towards Kamala Harris as president. Her time as vice president has felt underwhelming. People also felt she wouldn’t be substantially different politically from her boss, President Biden. She hasn’t expressed disapproval towards controversial Biden moves, notably Biden’s funding of the Israeli militia and his claim that the US is committed to deescalation. Bottom line is, I’m not writing this piece to express my support of Harris.

But we’ve seen what Trump has done/is willing to do as president. Just because someone says they love me doesn’t mean they actually do, and Trump has managed to convince plenty of Americans that he cares about them.

So now I sit in bed, face-up like a starfish, and I feel nervous. Maybe soon I’ll be banned from this country. I don’t know. If Trump was willing to ban Muslims like me from entering the country, what’s to stop him from kicking us out, as he plans to do with Hispanic and Latino immigrants, some of whom entered this country legally?

Now that Trump is taking office soon, I feel as though I just watched a horror movie. I fear what’s around me—what might come get me as the night progresses. I worry about how my paranoia will distort my surroundings, causing my room to change its color and layout.

I know I will wake up tomorrow morning. I just feel uncertain. Unstable. What’s going to happen between now and the morning? What will he do that makes him so special? Is it the good special? Or the bad?

Maybe I’m stressed over nothing.