An Open Letter to the Disaffected

At least it’s over! 

On Wednesday afternoon, Vice President Kamala Harris officially conceded the 2024 presidential election to former President Donald Trump. Although much was made of the historical nature of Harris’s candidacy, it is President-elect Trump who has made history, becoming the first convicted felon to have won a presidential election. Today, millions of people around this country are straining to accept that their judgment, their perceptions, and their values were out of step with the American electorate–and I’m one of them. 

Although Harris didn’t explicitly campaign on the historic aspects of her candidacy—her gender and ethnicity—it would ignore American history to deny that racism and misogyny likely played a role in her ultimate loss. Trump and his allies have embraced the use of poorly-coded language aimed at discrediting her expertise and her resonance with the American people based exclusively around her race and gender.    

I do not, however, completely attribute Harris’s failure to shatter Hillary Clinton’s “highest and hardest glass ceiling” to these factors, nor do I think they were the most consequential determinant of Tuesday’s outcome; I blame Harris’s lack of effort to distinguish herself from President Biden. Last week, RealClearPolling placed the percentage of Americans who disapproved of the direction that the nation was heading at 63%, and the percentage of Americans who disapproved of Biden’s job as president at 56%. For Harris to overcome these historically negative numbers, she would have had to majorly differentiate herself from Biden, which she repeatedly refused to do. In response to growing dismay among Muslim and Arab-American voters due to Biden’s position on Gaza, the Harris team declined to feature a Palestinian speaker at the DNC and instead spent the final stretch of the campaign parading around with Liz Cheney, whose father was responsible for the deaths of thousands in the Middle East. When Harris was finally asked outright what, if anything, she’d do differently than Biden, the one change she said she’d make was to have a Republican in her cabinet—and that wasn’t enough to convince the American people.      

That being said, this election’s result was very clearly not just a failure on the part of the Harris campaign, but a success on behalf of Trump’s. After the 2022 midterm elections’ supposed “Red Wave” trickled out and Trump-aligned MAGA candidates lost across the board, many on the left assumed this election cycle would feature similar dynamics. However, in 2024, Trump has made gains across the board. The difference here is that Trump isn’t some fringe, knock-off Trump-like figure like Kari Lake or other MAGA-adjacent candidates who were repeatedly defeated in 2022 and again this year. He’s the original—the driving force behind this movement, the opiate that has captivated his coalition. Trump has built a multiracial, class-crossing base extremely resistant to geographic and cultural variations from state to state. Furthermore, Trump has dismantled the “demographics equals destiny” argument—the idea that America’s increasing ethnic diversity would ensure the longevity of the Obama coalition, and thus the continued success of the Democratic Party. By making significant gains among the Hispanic community, the Black community, young voters, and women, Trump has disproved the racist notion that demographic shifts alone won’t guarantee any kind of political outcome, for either party.

Now that Trump has won the election, we should be relieved that it was a decisive outcome rather than a close, contentious one that could have fueled further political violence or deepened our nation’s already fractured trust in its institutions. For years, Republicans have invested millions and dedicated significant effort to sowing distrust in our electoral systems through the “Stop the Steal” movement. With Trump’s clear victory, I wonder what will happen to those immense resources poured into their supposed concern for “election integrity.” My guess? They’ll quickly forget about it—unless they face losses in 2026.

I believe there will be more democratic elections after this one, but an emboldened President Trump will take the country in a more outwardly authoritarian direction in his second term—not only with his already dangerous rhetoric, but also with his administration’s policies. Trump has promised to pursue mass deportations. He will continue to block access to reproductive healthcare, causing women and girls to unnecessarily die. He’s poised to give the richest man in the world undue influence in regards to the structure of our administrative state and the shape of policy. He will fill his cabinet with the few loyalists not yet alienated by his abhorrent character, and willing to play into his grandiose self image. He has promised to pursue revenge against his political enemies, and now, thanks to his election, he’ll likely evade any justice he would have faced in his four ongoing legal cases. Much of this he can accomplish without the support of Congress.  

These next four years will be trying, even more so than the last few days have felt for those of us disappointed in our nation’s choice. Feeling disillusioned right now is understandable, especially given the gravity of what a Trump presidency may mean for our country. His long history of dishonesty, numerous allegations of sexual misconduct, disregard for democratic norms, and policies targeting marginalized groups make it tempting to just go numb and stop paying attention. But while it’s fair to be disillusioned with national politics, don’t let that disillusionment extend to the impact you can have in your own community. True change doesn’t only happen in Washington; your actions can also directly improve lives in your neighborhoods, schools, and local organizations. Staying engaged, whether by volunteering, participating in local government, or supporting causes you value, is a powerful way to channel your frustration into tangible, positive outcomes. 

As we brace for the challenges that may arise, I urge you all to resist the pull of nihilism. Rather than disengaging, let’s use this moment to reinforce the bonds in our society and work toward a better future. The only way to counter the reality of a second Trump term is by staying active within our communities and supporting causes that uphold our shared values. We must invest in our neighborhoods, not just by voting but also by volunteering our time and resources, supporting charities, and building networks of mutual aid. Embrace the power of collective action. Even when the national landscape seems bleak, positive change is possible in our own backyards. The path forward requires us to stay vigilant and hopeful, holding on to the belief that change can still be forged through our commitment to one another and our values.

The opinions expressed within this piece represent the views of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Jefferson Independent.