With Donald Trump’s win in the 2024 presidential election, people around the country are further divided and post-election emotions are strong. For some, Kamala Harris’s loss was unfathomable, while others were confident that Donald Trump would win from the start.
Many Damascus seniors comprise a part of the new generation eligible to vote. These seniors hold varying opinions on the election’s outcome, but one thing is clear: they all feel the political polarization in the country is getting out of control. Some seniors feel the election outcome was less than favorable since both candidates had “problematic policies” and were “polarizing and extreme.” Another senior is worried that the president-elect is “racist and sexist” and has been accused of sexual assault, saying “I am a person of color, so it doesn’t feel very nice when your country’s leader doesn’t like people like you.”
While some seniors were surprised by the results, others knew this outcome was likely. One senior said she thought Kamala Harris would win because she saw “a lot of younger people supporting her on TikTok.” Support for Kamala on TikTok could also have been due to more younger people, who are not able to vote, being less knowledgeable on politics. However, others weren’t at all surprised by the outcome and believed that it wouldn’t be a close race because of extreme polarization. They believe the Democrats should’ve found a “better, more centrist candidate,” and they should’ve been more clear on policies if they wanted a chance of winning the election. They think that, although Harris touched on a variety of issues, she didn’t go in-depth on her ideas for solutions. They also believe that there was a degree of bias because Harris is a woman and a person of color.
Trump’s 2016 term was highly controversial, with one Damascus senior noting that Trump’s personality was a factor for why he was disliked. Some felt that nothing happened much during Trump’s last term, while others felt that everything was much cheaper. One student recalls the lack of maturity from Trump after Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. Specifically, this student feels the insurrection “wasn’t a professional way to handle” losing the presidency. Regarding Trump’s performance as president in the future, one student states that it will likely be “marred by scandals” but she hopes that “he can get himself together” despite being “too extreme, senile, [and not] the best mouthpiece for Republicans.” According to the students, a popular belief is that the country will not be heading in the right direction with Trump in office, with one being “afraid he might do something racist and cause more polarization and extremism on both sides.” One concern that a student brings up is “tariffs because people are going to have to pay more.” Another brings up her “irrational fear of being sent back” due to her status as an immigrant.
Concerning what policies they are hoping Trump passes, one student hopes he will protect abortion rights because she believes it will lower the amount of children being born in bad situations which will “hopefully lower child poverty,” while another student believes there should be stricter abortion laws because she thinks people should be “more conscious of the consequences of their decisions.” Another student wants Trump to get rid of ultra-processed foods “to improve the quality of food and make people healthier,” and he should also “gradually decrease funding for Ukraine, and stop funding Israel” to get us out of foreign conflicts.
With Trump’s cabinet positions already filling up, some people are worried about the future of certain rights. Concerning Supreme Court nominations, some seniors are worried about the possibility of more conservative justices being appointed. They are concerned about women’s rights‒including IVF and birth control‒ trans rights, and immigrants. Some seniors also worry that Trump will use his power to influence Congress to pass laws limiting fundamental rights. They think that some people are overreacting, but they also think people should have “a little anxiety” because of some of his past comments. However, one senior argued that people shouldn’t be worried because Trump wouldn’t be able to take away fundamental rights by himself.
Now that Trump has said that he will put RFK Jr. in charge of health, seniors are worried about Kennedy’s past views on vaccines. However, one senior also sees the bright side when it comes to this appointment, saying that Kennedy will be able to “crackdown on ultra-processed foods, making the food quality in America better.”
There is also some concern regarding the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity over the summer. Some seniors are worried that Trump will use this ruling to his advantage since “he can’t run for reelection,” They are hoping that the Court will “listen to the Constitution” rather than blindly listen to the leader of their political party. One student believes that he won’t use this power because if he did, he would “commit political suicide.”
Looking toward the future, students anticipate their role as voters in the next election and the following ones after. The system that the United States follows for voting has proved to be controversial. Some call for a popular vote rather than the Electoral College, while a few students at Damascus believe the Electoral College works just fine. One student argues “It’s been working in the past,” while another believes there should be some reform. He thinks that we should hold a census every 4 years rather than every 10 years and more states should adopt the system that Maine and Nebraska have. Another senior believes that we should switch to a popular vote, saying “you could have unfaithful electors” in the Electoral College.
In the future, the seniors want the parties to put their differences aside, look for common issues, and work together to help the citizens of America.
