Presidential Election Reaction by: kyle Grinnell

Many are still trying to process what happened the night of November 8th, when Donald Trump defeated Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Presidential Election.

Every major poll had Clinton by a landslide, yet Trump won almost every crucial “toss-up” state including Florida, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, allowing Trump to secure more electoral votes by a significant margin. Now many are left speculating how Trump pulled off the upset.

Jacob Wilson says his reaction when he heard Trump won, “(I) was kind-of indifferent, because either way, neither of the candidates really represented my views.” This seems to be the attitude of many who voted, in that millions of voters did not prefer either of the major candidates. This is why the election results showed a high number of write-ins and third party candidates according to election results.

Jacob Wilson left wondering what a Trump Presidency will look like

According to Wilson each candidate has positive traits. As for Trump, “he truly sees where America stands economically, and he’s not afraid to do what needs to be done, Wilson said. Adding, “Hillary seeks to provide people with healthcare, and she is a good public speaker.” Though there was indifference, it is still easy to see the positives of both candidates.

We have seen the last few weeks have been filled with backlash about the results of the elections. TV news has been quick to show protests, and rallies of those saying “He’s not my President.” Hillary was nearly in tears as she gave her conceding speech shown on national news stations addressing her supporters. Many of supporters carried over her emotions, and were left distraught. The election seems to have created more of a divide rather than unify the country.

Others were doubtful about Trump’s ability to be a successful President. Travis Skillingstad says, “a lot of people including myself have doubts about Trump’s abilities…I hope he can prove me wrong…he can bring insight to the economic side of things, but I doubt his abilities elsewhere”

Travis Skillingstad cautiously optimistic about Trump's Presidency

Though several were shocked and doubtful about Trump’s chances of winning, and his effectiveness as President, others were optimistic. Ryan Swain says, “I figured he was going to win. Trump is really dominant, which could be good for our country, and he’s got a lot of background with the economy which should help ours, but we’ll see.” Clay Norsworthy says “maybe what we need is a businessman, so that he can fix the economy.” There are positive attitudes towards Trump and his ability to fix the economy, and that was enough to get him elected.

Ryan Swain happy about the election results

This was an election cycle that political examiners will be studying for years. They will be looking at the mistakes in polls, voting trends, and what was so polarizing about Trump and Clinton. Clinton was set to make history, her entire career political career she was being groomed to become the first female president. From the first lady in the 90s, and time in the President’s cabinet recently, she was working for this Presidency. But Trump did what seemed impossible a year ago, and won the Presidency.

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