On the night of Trump’s first victory in 2016, conservative woman Caitlin Quattromani sensed that her friend Lauran Arledge was in pain down the street. There was nothing she could do to make her friend’s fears and frustrations go away. But she still decided to at least send this text shortly after the race was called:
Years later, Lauran would talk about how meaningful this unlikely comfort from her political opposite was: it strengthened their friendship at the same time that so many others felt alienated again. “Where there could so easily have been weeks and months of awkwardness and unspoken hostility,” she said, this message reminded her, “we can get through this.”
The emotional shock of the past 24 hours is just as real for many Americans after a second Trump victory. After weeks of predictions about ‘razor-thin’ margins, few expected an outcome that would be so clear or so quick.
Still, the sudden clarity of the results adds to the sting of defeat for those who had fervently hoped for a Harris victory. Shortly after 10 p.m., New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg admitted that things weren’t looking good for her favorite candidate. She admitted that “there has clearly been no rejection of Trump, which fills me with unspeakable despair.”
The level of fear and sadness is palpable in many parts of the country. In an article about the “nightmare” Democrats feel they are reliving, a former Democratic party official said, “It’s beyond all the words I can use to describe.”
“For every person who is excited about Trump returning to the White House and carrying the Republican flag,” my colleague Jennifer Graham wrote this morning, “there is a neighbor or family member who is genuinely afraid of where America goes from here go.”
A friend in New York texted me this morning: “I would appreciate your prayers for the safety of me and all other trans and gender non-conforming people in the years to come.”
I do not share my friend’s belief that his life will be personally threatened during Trump’s administration. But because I care about this person, their fear really matters to me – which makes me want to wear it as a proxy somehow.
According to expert Bessel Van der Kolk, the true definition of ‘trauma’ is when an experience exceeds and overwhelms our normal ability to cope or process it.
If we care about the well-being of our nation as a whole, the painful disappointment and suffering of nearly 66 million Americans should matter — even if you are someone celebrating Trump’s victory.
In addition to sadness and fear, many others are simply confused. After hearing about Trump’s drive to unite the country in the victory speech, Liz Joyner admits it “feels unfathomable” to her. After a decade of trying to bring liberals and conservatives together on Village Square, this national peacemaker says, “I can’t understand why the majority of Americans could possibly vote for someone who wants to tear us apart – who does that syllable – by – syllable from day to day.”
This fear, sadness and confusion are of course related to broader beliefs people have about what will or will not happen as Trump returns to power. The debate over how legitimate these fears are will continue as the democratic transition progresses.
What is not up for debate is the fact that many people are hurting right now – with an emotional burden that is real and heavy. That includes religious voters in Utah who feel deflated. “If I didn’t have absolute confidence in Jesus, I would be in despair this morning,” Wally Goddard told me, a devout Latter-day Saint who voted for Harris after concluding that she lacked the decency and character of someone who he wanted to represent the best. to lead the nation.
“My opinion is that we are in the hands of the Lord. It’s hard to imagine what this would be like without that hope,” he admitted, “because then there would be nothing to hold on to.”
For those who aren’t feeling this kind of reassurance right now, hopefully in the coming weeks as we head into the holidays, they can feel encouraged by the real people around them. However you voted, make sure we are one of those people this week.
