The Ugly Truth about Trump’s Loss
Whether you supported Donald Trump or Joe Biden this year, you can agree this election was a historic one. The sheer turnout of voters is one that has never been seen before; both Biden and Trump received a higher number of votes than Barack Obama in 2008, who had the highest voter turnout in years. Kamala Harris made history as the first woman, Black American, and Asian-American vice president. Donald Trump became the first president in 30 years who just had one single term. Many people had hoped the termination of his presidency would signal for the end of his racist, misogynistic, transphobic, and white supremacist rhetoric that has seeped throughout the nation. However optimistic that is, we can not allow ourselves to believe it will happen. A transfer of power will not shift the thinking of millions of Americans overnight. Even though a record number of Americans voted for Joe Biden, an equally astonishing number voted for Donald Trump. More than 72 million people thought Donald Trump, with all of his scandals and shortcomings, was a superior choice than Joe Biden for the position of the leader of the free world. People who support Trump are ones that support his comments about women, policies continuing the caging of children, fawning over dictators around the world, the constant lying to the American public, and the loss of the nation in the battle with his ego. Over these past four years, Trump’s followers have started to internalize and accept anything that he says; the “birther” movement about President Obama, blatant misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic, and surmised claims about voter fraud has not changed the minds of his supporters. Biden was projected as the winner of the election 3 weeks ago; yet Trump and his supporters continue to declare the President as the winner. Trump’s battlecry to the Proud Boys, a far-right and neo-fascist political organization, during the first presidential debate sparked the so-called “MAGA Million March” two weeks ago. This “march” is irresponsible in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic, as most of his supporters didn’t wear masks, a crucial part in preventing the devastation of the pandemic. Yet, Trump and his administration have not condemned this reckless show of support, and instead condoned it. Trump’s glaring ignorance of COVID-19 precautions has permeated throughout the nation, causing over 13 million cases and 263K deaths. Even after these cases and deaths, Trump and his supporters refuse to admit the severity of the pandemic. This way of thinking will not change after January 20, 2021; even after Joe Biden becomes the 46th President, Trump supporters will refuse to believe information about the pandemic and will continue to tout claims about Biden being a communist and a socialist. Trump may leave, but the racist and misogynistic ideologies he inspired have just woken up in millions of minds across the nation. Even though Donald Trump might be out of office, it’ll take years before “Trumpism” leaves America.
Added: 2020