‘I must believe there’s more good in the world, even if I don’t feel it now’: US-born locals on Trump’s re-election
Over half of the US population re-elected Donald Trump as their president for the next four years. We asked Govanhill locals hailing from the US what it has been like to watch on from afar.
Photo: American flag blowing in the wind. Source: @thejacobstone
The world held it's breath and watched this week as America went to the poll. The result will have a major impact on not just the US but the rest of the world. After what was predicted to be tight race, Donald Trump took a staggering share of the votes.
We reached out to Govanhill locals hailing from the US about how they are feeling following the election from afar and what the result means for them.
Bailey Shelton
“I was born in a red state. We only ever went blue in 2008 for Obama, who inspired a generation of hopeful black voters to hit the polls. It’s naive to think Obama era policies did anything but steer slightly to the left of the middle, but at least we were moving in a positive direction. At the time I remember really buying into hope and change, sure heavy gerrymandering kept the state red, sure public education had less resources, but I truly thought that there was this future that would be bright if I put my faith in my neighbours… it’s the hope that kills you.
On election night I went to bed thinking about the fact that around 51 percent of Americans say they believe Donald Trump will be the best candidate for handling the economy. Over 30 percent said their primary reason for voting was the economy, and another 30 percent said it was to maintain democracy. This morning, I found out that 6 out of 10 of the people I grew up with genuinely believe that this cult of personality would be better for the economy and for democracy than putting a woman of colour at the helm.
It’s hard not to feel like my neighbours have knives sewn into their petticoats. I’m wondering how I might get my friends to safety if the things the Conservative Party say they feel about marginalised groups turn into actual policy and action. At one point, Donald Trump claimed all liberal voters should be rounded up by the national guard as a threat to their nations security. I’m privileged to have the BRP in my pocket, and even more privileged to have an income that supports the immigration process that brought me to Glasgow in the first place. But to some degree I feel guilty that I get to jet off back to my cozy, diverse, liberal community that can say they forced a facist out of Queen’s Park in the 1930s.
It’s not a hyperbolic comparison you’re seeing. The stranger than fiction headlines are a warning, and it’s exactly what the UK was worried about when they booted the Tories in July. We should all think a bit about the irony in this year’s election dates. In the UK, the election fell on July 4th, otherwise known as US Independence Day. In the US, the election fell on November 5th, Bonfire Night. What might the tea leaves be telling us?”
Eddie Kim
“When over half the people in a country the size of the U.S. vote for a bigoted, sexual predator, criminal, (etc.), it fills you with many feelings. Immediately, you feel overwhelming rage and disgust, met hard with a cosmic despondence and helplessness – detachment. Immediately, you wonder at the number of dumb, hateful f***ers who must fill this country you’re from, that their fearful, broken cowardice could manifest into such a spiteful, self-inflicting, and small decision.
Immediately, you worry about the safety of your mother, other family members, communities of colour, LGBTQIA+ communities, friends, refugees, immigrants, whose very faces and lives have been castigated by this decision. America, as a country, has told us who it is, twice. So, we must listen.
After a breath, this reaffirms in me the importance and necessity of building community. I must start with myself. I must start with love and understanding, for the community/communities around me, for my neighbours, friends, and family. I remember James Baldwin and lean heavily on the love and passion of a very few, see myself in the hate facing me (how wrecked, disenfranchised, and afraid would I need to feel to vote so aggressively against my own interests?). Dumb is a lazy word. I’m not immune to misanthropic tendencies – this world can be brutal. I’m not better than the cold, comforting embrace of hate, but I refuse it dominion.
I also remember Audre Lorde’s words about the master’s tools being incapable of dismantling the master’s house––to find a new way. I must believe, on a global scale, there’s more good in the world, even if I don’t feel it now. I do believe there’s a way through this. To that end, if you see me walking down the street or at the shop, know that you’re welcome. Say hello, commiserate, share joy, whatever you need to keep going, to connect, because that’ll keep me going as well, regardless of what my face might say. Love to you.”
Giacinta Frisillo
“This is the most important vote of my life” is the phrase I heard echoed time and again in the run up to this year’s election day. And now it’s come and gone, and my £3 paid to the Royal Mail to post my ballot feels like money I could have used toward one of many needed pints.
No matter who won this vote, it was going to be historic. Our choices were: the first convicted felon, sexual predator, racist, and fascist – or – a woman. She wasn't my ideal choice, but I wholeheartedly backed her. Deflated as I am by the state of the union, I can’t honestly say I’m surprised by the outcome and certainly not by the distribution of votes by state. I am confused, however, by the overwhelmingly Trump-leaning exit poll results of votes by white women – a demographic to which I belong. I am equally concerned by the world media’s attention to this detail.
Focusing on, and blaming any identifiable group for an outcome that will deeply and negatively impact so many cannot possibly be a step toward combatting the intensifying issues to come. I'm so angry. I'm angry, I'm sad, and I'm scared. So, what hope am I left with? Do I break out 2017’s Pink Pussyhat and yell in the streets, or do I hide my cis-gendered female whiteness and “send thoughts and prayers” that someone, somewhere will save us?”
Jordan DeMeyer
“Being an American living in the UK during an election is a bizarre experience. In many ways I’m happy to be away from the incessant noise of campaigning. However, waking up Wednesday morning to the news of Trump and Vance winning the election emphasises how disconnected I feel from it all. That isn’t the outcome I had hoped for, but if I’m honest, I’m not too surprised.
What surprises me is how large the margin of victory was. The overwhelming narrative here is something like, ‘how on earth could you vote for a person like that,’ and I agree, but the reality is that there were nearly 5 million more votes for Trump/Vance than for Harris/Walz. That’s hard to ignore. In the UK it feels like I’m expected to be devastated, and my Kansas roots say I should be elated, but my overwhelming sense is neither.
No, I’m not particularly happy. But I’m not sad or angry either. I actually have a great deal of hope just now. Not a hope in political structures and leaders, but in something beyond that. It sounds foolish to say that I’m hopeful, but isn’t hope always a bit foolish?”