The AP has called the election for former President Donald Trump about an hour ago. I have to say, I hate our 'electoral college' system, but it is what it is. When I went to bed last night there were no surprises. None of the seven 'battleground' states had been called, although both North Carolina and Georgia were leaning close to Trump. I went to bed knowing that all Harris had to do was win the 'blue wall'. Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. She could lose North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada, and still come away with a win.
I woke up very early this morning. 4 AM. Part of my wake up routine is utilizing my Google Home. I tell it 'Okay Google, Good Morning' and it runs a routine on my smart house. It tells me good morning, turns on the lights in my room, turns its volume up, tells me the weather, tells me my first calendar appointment of the day, tells me any tasks I have set, and then plays an NPR newscast while I get dressed. The only telling thing in the news cast was that Trump had a victory speech but neither NPR nor the AP had declared him a victor. So, I get my coffee, use the bathroom, turn my computer on, and sit down to take in the news.
Trump declaring victory isn't a surprise at all. He'd do that without winning 270 votes and declare a scam in states that are close or not yet counted. But the news didn't show me that. They show me that he'd won Pennsylvania. He cracked the blue wall. The AP had called enough states that Trump had 267 electoral votes (remember, he only needs 270 to win the election). And when you looked at it closer, Alaska hadn't been called yet and it wasn't supposed to be even close there. Alaska's 3 electoral college votes would push Trump over the finishing line.
Fuck.
Using the New York Time's site as a barometer of the remaining states, they all were leaning toward Trump. Harris could conceivably win some of them, but it wasn't likely. The likely result was that Trump would be winning with well over 300 electoral votes. Trump would win Arizona, Wisconsin, and my home state of Michigan.
I'm so disappointed right now. Let's be clear, I'm not above admitting that I sometimes simply vote against people.
My first presidential election was 1992 where I voted for Bill Clinton over George Bush. I probably wasn't that well informed, but I remember liking Bill Clinton and not really having a problem with George Bush. I voted for him again in 1996 when Bob Dole ran as the Republican candidate. I both liked Bill Clinton and disliked Bob Dole, so it was an easy choice. In 2000 Bill Clinton's vice president Al Gore ran against George Bush's son, George W Bush. I don't remember liking Al Gore all that much, but George W Bush came across as inept to me. It was the first time I voted more against a candidate as opposed to voting for a candidate.
I remember being disillusioned as George W Bush won after a supreme court ruling that closed out Florida's close vote count and they admitted that he lost the popular vote. I really sit back and wonder what the world would be like if Al Gore was president during the 9/11 attacks.
In 2004 I voted both for John Kerry and against George W Bush.
2008 seemed like it would be a really special election. Up until that time, either the incumbent President (George Bush, Bill Clinton, George W Bush), or their Vice President (Al Gore) were running. But that year George W Bush's Vice President, Dick Cheney, wasn't running. That meant there would be a fresh Democrat going up against a fresh Republican. I followed this election very closely and remember really liking Barack Obama. I honestly didn't have much problem with John McCain, but I absolutely adored Barack Obama and his whole 'Hope' theology.
2012 was similar in that I didn't hate Mitt Romney, but I just was in love with Obama.
After Joe Biden's son passed away, he decided not to run in 2016, meaning we had another 'fresh' election. Hillary Clinton vs Donald Trump. I went through that entire election cycle thinking that there was no way Donald Trump could win. To say he spoke inelegantly is too minimalist. His business failures, his rudeness, his masochistic tendencies, his near overt racism, his bullying, his 'grab them by the pussy' comment. I mean, there was just NO WAY America would vote for this buffoon. Right?
In 2016 I was a working Registered Nurse. I was a mature 42 years old. I thought I'd wiped out most of the young naivety out of my eyes. Sure, I'd been disappointed by my country before (George W Bush, the war in Iraq, don't ask don't tell...) but still felt like the rug had been pulled out from under me as the country elected Donald Trump to be President.
I remember going to work the day after the election and having one of my coworkers make a happy comment about how Trump was going to be our next President and nearly shouting "He's Not MY President". It took me a few days to cool down and I eventually apologized to both her and those that heard my outburst. While I would never support him personally, Donald Trump was of course 'my' president. I live in a society where the majority votes matter.
Except they don't. Hillary Clinton won the majority of the votes. She just didn't win the electoral college. But whatever, we had an election and he won by the rules of the election. "My" country wanted him as President.
Those four years were tough. I felt vindicated many times over as more and more proof of his ineffectiveness as a leader came through. By the time Covid came around it was no surprise that he completely screwed the pooch on our country's response. And when the 2020 election came, I thought that so long as the Democrats didn't put up a moron as a candidate, they'd clearly win against a Trump re-election.
My personal choice, early in the primary race, was for 'Mayor Pete'. Pete Buttigieg. But when it came down to Joe Biden, I solidly supported him. Hell, most of their policies were close to each others and the fact that Pete Buttigieg was gay might turn off enough people, so why risk running someone that might not beat Trump. I was so happy that Biden won that election and thought that I could feel my country healing.
Fast forward to 2024 I was surprised that Trump wanted to run again. He'd been impeached twice. There were investigations into his involvement with the riot on January 6th before the congress could validate the election. He was charged with felonies four times over. But he not only ran, he kept getting his huge rallies. I was a little nervous as Joe Biden wasn't exactly popular as President. I figured he'd have a tough election against any Republican except for Donald Trump. After that first debate, I was even more nervous as Joe Biden was showing his age in the worst way possible.
When he backed out and supported his Vice President, Kamala Harris, to replace him, I was happy again. She seemed well suited to beat Trump. I mean, there was just no way that the American population would fall into the Trump trap again. Right?
A half hour later while reading emails and drinking coffee, I got the Google alert. The AP had called the election for Donald Trump. He won Wisconsin.
The Republicans will also control the Senate and likely control the House of Representatives. And with a 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court, there are likely no barriers to President Trump getting what he wants.
I know we'll come out of this. It's just 4 years. He can't run again, so it's literally just 4 years. But what a shitshow this is going to be for four years.
I fear that Ukraine will lose it's war with Russia. I fear that President Trump will at least threaten the withdrawal of our support to get them to the negotiating table where Russia will get to keep all the land it's won. And that would be the best possible outcome.
I fear that President Trump will carry out some of his promises. I fear that he'll start a massive effort to deport millions of immigrants. I fear that he'll throw tariffs around like candy on Halloween and that everything is going to get more expensive. I fear he'll restart building 'the wall' on the border with Mexico. I fear he'll cut corporate and wealthy taxes while increasing the budget. I fear he'll replace two old conservative supreme court justices with two young vital and ridiculously unqualified supreme court justices, cementing that 6-3 conservative majority for the highest court in the land.
But most of all, I'm disappointed in my fellow Americans. A literal pumpkin should have been able to beat Trump to the presidency. He's not an honorable man. He's a terrible human being. I'd like to think that if the roles were reversed, that if President Trump were running as a progressive on the Democrat ticket, that I'd still vote against him. I'd vote for someone who supported a nation wide abortion ban over Trump. I'd vote for someone who supported taking away rights from women and LGBTQ+ over Trump. I'd vote for someone who supports leaving Ukraine out to dry and turning our backs on Gaza over Trump.
I'm already looking forward though. I still hope that the Democrat running for the Senate here in Michigan wins. I honestly like Elissa Slotkin. Pete Buttigieg moved to Michigan a year or so ago and our Governor, 'Big Gretch' Gretchen Whitmer, is term limited. So maybe in two years I'll get to vote for Governor Pete! And in four years the Democrat side will be wide open to run against Vice President J.D. Vance.
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