The following is a complete list of responses from the Scripps community to The Scripps Voice’s inquiry for comments on the election of Donald Trump to a second term. We encourage readers to engage with the comments in their completeness with respect, honesty, and a desire for communal understanding.
“What you’ve got to remember is everyone you’re looking at is also you. You could be that person. You could be that monster. You could be that cop. And you have to decide in yourself not to be. That’s James Baldwin. And I say we can’t let ourselves despair. I think we need to really channel our ancestors and those who wanted a better life for us that came here, that have struggled for centuries to give us hope and when and how we watch them struggle … And, and to me it’s this whole farce. You know, the system itself, the voting system, the electoral college is broken, broken. It’s a broken system, and we have to think of new ways. So we can’t despair. We have to, more than ever, build our communities around us on the ground and find ways of building the world we want to see, you know? We have to keep going. There’s nothing else to do, you know? And it’s okay to mourn for a little while, but dust yourself off and let’s go, you know?” — Professor Martha Gonzalez
“I’m devastated and terrified by the results of the election. People may think we’re relatively safe because we live in California but complacency will only be to our detriment. Just like I would have done if Kamala had been elected, I will continue to advocate for reproductive rights, for equal rights, and do my best to push for positive changes. Our voices do matter, even if things seem out of control and unstable. We have to keep fighting, finding solace in our communities, and advocating for respect, equity, and equality!” — Athena Lewin ’25
“I am genuinely fearful for this country. The degree of out-of-sync that liberal academic spaces and media are from the actual pulse of the working people in this country is shocking, and the feeling of shock felt about the election results in these circles proves that. The degree to which working-class, rural Americans are genuinely fearful for their livelihoods, to the point of selfishness and aligning with hatred, is a scary fact. There is a vulnerability in American life that liberal democrats have not addressed. As privileged members of the educated elites here at this college, we, too, have allowed ourselves to turn a blind eye to the reality of this nation’s political opinions. Fear has been allowed to be stoked into hatred and bigotry. We cannot diagnose the Trump phenomenon as the result of a few extremists. I feel like people in places like Scripps College think of people who vote for or align with Trump as foreign, completely misguided, and impossible to understand. That is our biggest weakness, and it is the weakness that caused the Democratic party to lose across the board. We need a new approach– the whole “if you vote for Trump, you’re a bigot, you hate women and want to strip their rights” approach was not resonant. Clearly, a deeper understanding needs to be developed, and that has to start from an empathetic approach, in my opinion. We can be firm in denouncing those beliefs that we find irredeemable, but we must begin to understand the masses of people who were compelled to vote for Trump.” — anonymous Scripps student
“I am horrified. Being from a southern state, I have already experienced what it is like for my reproductive rights to be stripped away, but I mourn for those in other states who now share this experience. I am scared for myself, but mostly for those who are less privileged than I am, for immigrants, for black and brown women who will be disproportionately affected, for lower and middle class folk, for trans people, for everyone who values democracy. I truly can not believe that a man convicted of 34 felonies, a rapist, a racist, someone who tried to overthrow our country and disregards our constitution, could possibly be elected for the second time. I mourn the safety I thought would be guaranteed by moving to California” — anonymous Scripps student
“It’s devastating, and heartbreaking. We’re looking at losing many features of the administrative state, like environmental protection and food safety, as well as purges in the bureaucracy, and trans people and immigrants being targeted. It took a lot to build a system that, very imperfectly and partially, worked to provide some protections for people. Now we’re on our own, and I guess we look to those whom the state never protected for guidance on how to organize. But we should not ‘obey in advance,’ and must stand up to fascism, with civil disobedience if necessary.” — anonymous Scripps faculty member
“I am deeply saddened by this election — I am in mourning for the America that I had imagined this nation could be. I am angry that so many people could not bring themselves to vote for an intelligent, judicious, and competent woman; instead they found some excuse to vote for a man who has proven himself time and again to be incompetent, malicious, and destructively self-centered. At the present moment I cannot see a way forward, yet I hold on to the hope—the belief—that we’ll overcome someday.” — Professor YouYoung Kang
“I’m so saddened by this news because it’s obvious to me that people will believe anything Trump says if it means they can maintain the white supremacy agenda. I don’t even know if Trump supporters know what his policies are, but that doesn’t matter to them. What matters is that the power remains in their hands.” — anonymous Scripps student
“I feel very disheartened at the results of the election and what it could possibly mean for the future of our nation. I’m still in shock that the people would vote for a candidate who has been denounced by basically all of his former advisors and who’s economic plans would cause such a massive economic downturn. That being said, I’m grateful that I’m part of such a progressive and positive community and I think that we will get through this together.” — anonymous Scripps student
“Disappointed, disgusted, and shocked are the first words that come to mind. I am still struggling to comprehend how this could have happened. How did we elect a convicted felon, rapist, homophobic, racist, misogynist, fascist, failed businessman into the most important office of our country? The fate of America is unclear, which I have never felt.” — Katelyn Sewell ’27
“As an international student, I know that Trump’s election may not directly impact me as much as others, but I’m still deeply concerned. I’m a person of color, a queer woman, and an advocate for women’s and LGBTQ+ rights. Having Trump back in power feels like a setback for marginalized groups across this country. My heart goes out to queer youth, to the victims harmed by Trump’s abuse who now see him reclaim such power, and to women who are denied basic reproductive healthcare. It’s hard not to feel that this country is facing dark times ahead.” – Rochelle Lu ’28
“Disillusioned once again.” — anonymous Scripps student
“I am genuinely so scared for my future.” – anonymous Scripps student
“I am disappointed that people would vote for Trump, especially after his last term and his attacks on democracy. I am especially concerned about how his administration’s lack of care for the environment will impact the entire world because the next few years will determine the fate of the planet.” – anonymous Scripps student ’28
“It’s devastating, and heartbreaking. We’re looking at losing many features of the administrative state, like environmental protection and food safety, as well as purges in the bureaucracy, and trans people and immigrants being targeted. It took a lot to build a system that, very imperfectly and partially, worked to provide some protections for people. Now we’re on our own, and I guess we look to those whom the state never protected for guidance on how to organize. But we should not ‘obey in advance,’ and must stand up to fascism, with civil disobedience if necessary.” – anonymous Scripps student
“Keep hope – it’s the one thing no one can take away from you. That being said, we cannot forget this moment, because when we forget history, it will continue to repeat itself. We have to continue to fight. When we fight, we win.” – anonymous Scripps student
“Heartbroken and terrified.” — anonymous Scripps student
“It makes me sad that over half the country felt that he was a better option.” — anonymous Scripps student
“I’m so so scared.” — Abigail Lee ’27
“I am devastated that this is who the American public put into office. It says so much about what the people value. I am disappointed that so many people can’t see through Trump’s blatant lies and crimes and still chose to elect someone like him and Vance. I am scared for the future of this country, mainly because of what this says about the American public.” — anonymous Scripps student
“I can’t describe the feeling of watching the majority of Americans cast a vote for a vulgar, racist, convicted felon over a qualified, hardworking, diplomatic, and intelligent Black woman. It made me feel so hopeless seeing how deeply hateful and uncaring people are. It feels like the votes were against my generation’s future, and the futures of those after.” — anonymous Scripps student
“For me, personally, it’s been a mix of fear, sadness, anger, frustration, and confusion. Trump being elected felt like a fever dream, something that everyone would joke about happening, but never thought would actually happen. I’ve been going to my classes so I’m not isolating myself in my room all day, but I feel like if I talk I’ll start crying uncontrollably. I feel all these things not for myself, but rather for other people that are much less privileged than I. Yes, I’m a woman of color part of the LGBTQ+ community, I’m pretty disadvantaged by that part, HOWEVER, I’m financially stable, I’m going to college, and I don’t have to worry about my family being involved in a natural disaster or war. Yes, I’m worried about myself, but my heart truly goes out to those who are not as privileged as I am. For those who are trying to transition and don’t have anyone around them to support them, to women who need to get an abortion to save their own lives, to disabled people who live in an ableist world, to BIPOC folks who are facing microaggressions every single day. It is such an unfair, capitalist world, and Trump has VERY CLEARLY STATED that he won’t make anyone’s life any easier (unless you’re a wealthy, white, cisgender, heterosexual, Christian man). I hope everyone has someone or a community to turn to in these uncertain times <3” — anonymous Scripps student
“This election shows that the nation wants a change. They want a different administration. Sadly, that administration is the MAGA movement. However, we have to remind ourselves it is only for 4 years.” — anonymous Scripps student
“I’m heart broken over the fact that I may no longer have a future in America. I came here to experience the American education and make connections with individuals I would not have the opportunity of meeting if I stayed in my home country, but now it seems increasingly harder and more impossible for International students to have a life abroad. I’m scared that my visa, while legally allowing me to be here, will be terminated at any point just because I am not a citizen here. Today’s America is not a reflection of the America my dad once proudly spoke about and I’m saddened by that fact I may not be able to make his hopes and dreams for me come true.” — anonymous Scripps student
“Shocked and astounded.” — anonymous Scripps student
“I feel depressed. It feels like I’ve received the worst news ever while knowing that it is only going to get worse. Help.” — anonymous Scripps student
“Words cannot describe the disappointment I have for the men of this country. You have failed women. I will be participating in the 4B movement and I urge my fellow Scripps students to join me. We still have power to fight back and I think we should use it.” — anonymous Scripps student
“The economy was chosen over my rights.” — anonymous Scripps student
“Mind boggling. Absolutely terrifying about what this says about our country.” — Daisy Alvarez ’25
“The election results felt like a big “f*** you” to women, queer people, and every marginalized group out there.” — anonymous Scripps student
“Devastated, heartbroken, fearful, defeated, scared, angry, hopeless, confused, frustrated.” — anonymous Scripps student
“I feel very disheartened at the results of the election and what it could possibly mean for the future of our nation. I’m still in shock that the people would vote for a candidate who has been denounced by basically all of his former advisors and who’s economic plans would cause such massive economic downturn. That being said, I’m grateful that I’m part of such a progressive and positive community and I think that we will get through this together.” — anonymous Scripps student
“I am horrified. Being from a southern state, I have already experienced what it is like for my reproductive rights to be stripped away, but I mourn for those in other states who now share this experience. I am scared for myself, but mostly for those who are less privileged than I am, for immigrants, for black and brown women who will be disproportionately affected, for lower and middle class folk, for trans people, for everyone who values democracy. I truly can not believe that a man convicted of 34 felonies, a rapist, a racist, someone who tried to overthrow our country and disregards our constitution, could possibly be elected for the second time. I mourn the safety I thought would be guaranteed by moving to California. I’m also horrified about how Californians voted on prop 6, what the actual hell do you mean they voted no on prohibiting slavery?????? Sorry this is a ramble but I needed somewhere to put my thoughts.” — anonymous Scripps student
“How am I supposed to continue living my life as I have been? I look at everyone’s faces and wonder if they hate me for who I am. I will never have children for as long as I live in this country, and I will never forgive the people that drove me to that decision.” — anonymous Scripps student
“I am devastated. I am scared. It breaks my heart knowing that more than half the country would support an individual as hateful and corrupt as him. It breaks my heart knowing the pain and suffering undocumented people are feeling right now, fearing for their livelihood under the upcoming presidency. I am hopeful in the good hardworking people that will fight for our rights. But, the fear remains.” — anonymous Scripps student
“Fearing for my rights and safety :/” — Nailah Cannon ’28
“I think the racist, misogynistic, antifeminist backlash has been seeded for many years. I hope that a very robust FEMINIST discussion about capitalism and class power can happen at Scripps College–ESPECIALLY around the role of class elite and racially privileged women who support the right wing. I mean, seriously, why do SO MANY white women vote for a convicted rapist? Is it some ” Big Rich White Daddy Will Protect Me” complex? The internalized racist misogyny is so obvious—–but please can we also talk about CLASS as well? And oh, just curious: is there a feminist student club at Scripps College who could open up space for honest conversations about antifeminism?” — anonymous Scripps faculty member
“People who avowed that there was no difference between Harris and Trump (so vote for a third party candidate) will have a chance to find out now.
imo, Harris ran a good campaign. But as a woman; as a black woman (who wasn’t accepted as black by a number of black people, esp. a significant number of black men); as a black South Asian woman (who did not overwhelmingly carry the AsAm vote), I don’t think she had a real chance. Many Americans ARE racist bigots. Many ARE sexist. Many WANT to protect what they have by denying others. Others ARE hateful, spiteful, resentful folks looking for targets to attack: women. minorities. immigrants. transgender people. liberals. progressives. experts.
Such Americans LOVE bullies. They CONDONE cheating if you don’t get caught. They HATE difference. They KNOW who Trump is; their votes echo past national political support for white male supremacist politicos like Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson, George Wallace, Edwin Edwards, Larry Hogan.
Basically, these Americans are resentful, spiteful and selfish, and were receptive to Trump who gave them someone to blame for their problems. Hence the allure of conspiracy theories. But calling such people out hasn’t been a winning strategy. Will “progressives” continue to fight the tactics of white supremacist MAGA resentment with their own accusations about who is to blame, by trying to shame people into agreeing with their positions? That hasn’t worked so well so far…” — anonymous Scripps faculty member
“In total, 12% of black voters reported casting ballots for Trump in 2024, compared with just 8% eight years earlier. Twenty percent of black men said they supported the former president over Harris. Asian voters voted for Trump by 38%, which was a nine-percentage-point increase from 2016. That’s the same margin that left the Democratic party by 2024. Among Latinos, 45% broke for Trump this cycle, whereas just 29% voted for him in 2016 — a 16 percentage point shift. A majority (54%) of Latino men voted for Trump.
The share of the electorate who is Latino has also grown significantly — from less than 12% in 2016 to 14.7% this year. Imo, the Democrats have found a way to make themselves irrelevant in future politics, since they’re losing more and more of the ethnic minority vote…” — anonymous Scripps faculty member
“We need to encourage more discourse. Whether it’s about what constitutes human rights all the way to what we should do about global warming, we can’t move forward and unite without engaging in dialogue.” — anonymous Scripps student ’25
“In regard to the election, I am horrified and disappointed, though not surprised. It is never surprising. With each branch of the government now being dominated by Republican parties, the future of this country is without a doubt ominous. When I think about the fact that Trump has won, I remember a clip I saw of him at one of his rallies encouraging his fans to vote for him. He said to them that if they just get out there and vote this one time, they will never have to again. This immediately worried me then, and continues to fill me with dread now. The branches are all red. Trump could pass whatever law he wants without issue. He will put himself above the law. He is a fascist.
I wish that people would wake up and realize that Trump does not care about them. He only ran because he wanted to stay out of jail. He only ran because he cares about himself, not because he cares about the country. He has made it clear that he does not care about people at all. He especially does not care about women.
In 2016, I was entering my first year of middle school — I was 11 years old. I remember sitting in the car with my mom one day while she was running errands. She was playing NPR, and the radio hosts were discussing sexual assault allegations made against Trump. They were describing a story a women told where she was sitting next to him on an airplane and he started feeling her up. I was confused as to why this man was allowed to run when I heard that then. Now, I am still confused as to why he is allowed to run. He is a rapist, a racist, a misogynist, a pedophile, an idiot, and so many more things. Why did people vote for a man who said he would date his daughter? Why did people vote for a man who said, during a debate this year, “”In Springfield, they are eating the dogs. The people that came in, they […] are eating the pets of the people that live there,”” in turn endangering the lives of the Haitian immigrant population in the city as well as young children whose school received violent threats due to Trump’s comment?
Trump is going to ruin this country. His campaign is run off of hate, not intelligence. He has no plans for this country except fascism and destruction. He will destroy the Department of Education and ban more books. He will continue to hurt people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, women, and low income communities. And when he does, I only hope that some of the Americans that he has brainwashed and tarnished finally wake up.” — anonymous Scripps student
“She is me, I am her. I am POC, low-income, woman, with a desire to go to law school and become a circuit court judge. This election scares me, if she can’t do it, how can I? We picked a racist, rapist, sexist man, over a qualified, brilliant woman. We have failed. We have failed our future daughters. We have failed every little girl in this country. She was so qualified. America hates women, and more than that they hate women of color who fully deserve power.” — anonymous Scripps student
“After studying abroad in Scotland last semester (highly recommend, great country), I’ve begun to notice some similarities between European and American politics. While each country has its different contexts and histories, the recent shift towards the right in the international sphere has been characterized by neoliberal middle-of-the-road politicians falling short of what the public has asked them to do. And for good reason. We’re at a stage right now where neoliberalism just doesn’t cut it. It’s hard to let go because we’ve been entrenched in it for so long, but with poverty levels at the rate they are and the number of global conflicts we’re engaged in, it’s become clear that neoliberalism isn’t a tangible solution. This may not sound that encouraging, but I guess what I’m trying to say that the moment is scary, but it’s not unprecedented. Britain just overhauled the Conservatives’ 14 year-old stint in government recently with a landslide victory, and if we continue to push for more alternative solutions to the problems we’re facing, we might be able to do the same with Trump and the politics he has inspired. Biden was never going to be the president to bring America back to its former glory, if it ever had one. But after seeing the old rulebook fail for the Democrats, I’m optimistic that a paradigm shift might be coming, and more radical politics might be adopted by the left. It happened in 2018, and although the last 8 years have felt ungodly long, I believe we can do it again. So while I’m disappointed in the election’s results, I’m confident this is not the end. This is only the beginning.” — anonymous Scripps student
“In America’s eyes, no matter how brilliant I am, I will never be as brilliant as the mediocre man next to me.” — Machelle Kabir ’26
“52 percent of white American women showed us who they are: Trump supporters. National exit polls show that Trump easily carried white women’s vote, as white men too were 59 percent for Trump. For comparison, Black men and women went 20 percent and 7 percent for Trump, respectively. There was a lot of liberal hand-wringing over Harris’s issues with Black male voters. Barack Obama delivered an entire speech blaming Black men for their reluctance to back Harris. And yet Harris won three-quarters of Black men, while a much larger, much more powerful group of voters (white women) rejected the party begging for their votes for the third time in a row.” — anonymous Scripps faculty member
“Trump picked up support among young voters, who usually lean Democratic, but he lost ground with seniors. Harris won voters ages 18 to 29 by 11 points, a large drop from Biden’s 24 and Clinton’s 19. Harris’ margin of victory among college educated voters of color fell to 33 points, from 43 for Biden in 2020 and 50 for Clinton in 2016. Her edge among voters of color with no degree dropped to 30 points, from 46 in 2020 and 56 in 2016. Trump won voters ages 45 to 64 by 10 points, more than his one-point victory in 2020 and his eight-point edge in 2016, and Harris won 30-44s by a one-point margin, compared to Biden’s six points and Clinton’s 10. Black and Latina women overwhelmingly voted for Harris, though her margin among Latina women decreased, while Trump won white women by 8 points, according to CNN exit polling data, which is less than the 11-point margin he won in 2020.
Trump won 55% of the male vote compared to 53% in 2020, buoyed by Latinos, white men and young voters. According to CNN’s exit polling, Trump won men aged 18 to 29 by 49% to Harris’ 47%. Trump gained the support of more voters in major cities like Miami, New York City, Philadelphia and Chicago. Democrats received 50,000 fewer votes in Philadelphia than in the last election. Trump improved his 2020 margins by 7 points in New York City and 6 points in Cook County, Illinois, home to Chicago.Trump picked up a larger portion of voters under 30 than any Republican presidential candidate since 2008, according to NBC News exit polling, improving with both young men and young women. In 2020, President Joe Biden beat Trump by 11 percentage points among young men; this year, Trump beat Kamala Harris by 2 points. Among young women, Biden’s 35-point lead over Trump in 2020 shrunk to a 24-point lead for Harris. Among young white men without college degrees, Trump beat Harris, 56% to 40%.” — anonymous Scripps faculty member
