The presidential election results have been a trending topic across the globe – and do not seem to be losing any momentum. Worry and fear have gripped the minds of millions of people worldwide. Days after the results, people are now moving on from a state of shock and beginning to ask themselves; now what?
The promises that newly-elected president Donald Trump has made throughout his campaign could result in catastrophic changes to a multitude of communities, both within the country and across the world, if they materialize over the next four years.
One major pillar of the Trump campaign is the promise to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. Trump has fear-mongered his supporters into believing that undocumented immigrants are one of the nation’s biggest and most important threats, and made various declarations stating that he wants to begin the “largest domestic deportation operation in American history” on his first day back in the White House.
Boston University Today wrote an article emphasizing the ways that this fear could manifest itself in the same ways that it did back in Trump’s first election, when undocumented families felt like they could not attend government-related locations, such as schools or hospitals, out of fear that they may be arrested. Elliot Spagat, a writer for The Associated Press, states that Trump’s win could “tear apart families, exacerbate labor shortages and uproot people with deep ties to their communities.”
People also worry about the effects that Trump’s win could have on these immigrant communities, regardless of whether he is able to commit to his promise of deportation or not. In 2016, there was a “dramatic uptick in incidents of racist and xenophobic harassment across the country” following his presidential win. It would come as no surprise if those emboldened by Trump’s “us versus them” mentality once again rose to the occasion and went back to attacking minorities, particularly immigrants or children of immigrants.
Along with “closing the border” on his first day in office, Trump has also promised the American people that he will “drill, baby, drill”, referring to promises of a resurgence of crude oil production and oil drilling, particularly in the national wildlife refuge of the Arctic. He plans on eradicating many environmental policies that the Biden administration has set in place, such as the Inflation Reduction Act, which, if untouched, was set to provide Americans with over “600,000 jobs over the next 10 years,” and was also known as “the largest investment in reducing carbon pollution in US history.”
Another major issue that millions of Americans are extremely concerned over is what the future of women’s healthcare will look like under a Trump presidency. His time in office has already led to deep shifts within the nation’s decision on a woman’s right to choose when he appointed three conservative Justices onto the Supreme Court. “I was able to kill Roe v. Wade,” Trump bragged earlier this year, referencing how his Supreme Court choices led to a majority-conservative court that overturned the crucial abortion rights case.
Days before the election, Harris visited Georgia and spoke out against Trump’s “cruel” plans on abortion restrictions. She spoke out against the Georgia abortion restrictions and lack of abortion care that resulted in the death of Amber Thurman, emphasizing the ways that Trump and his anti-abortion decisions were undoubtedly responsible for her death. With a president who has proven time and time again to be against granting women the right to decide on what to do with their own bodies, women everywhere – particularly in red states like Georgia – feel tremendous unease with the future.
Trump’s win has been seen as a devastating blow to all kinds of marginalized communities. It is up to us to recognize what rights and important issues are at stake these upcoming years so that way we can come together and do everything we can to stop hatred, division, and privilege from taking over the nation.
These election results must serve as an inspiration for citizens to take action. Rather than viewing it through a devastated lens, it is essential that every person against what the new president-elect stands for partakes in local and state elections and continues to take action against policies that could damage and destructively impact the lives of millions of people across the nation and the world.
