By Zoë Mitchell
BU News Service
When Uriel Salamon went to bed on Nov. 8, the presidential election was far from over. But with Donald Trump leading in the polls, Salamon, a 33-year-old software engineer from Boston, wasn’t ready to know the winner.
“I just said to my wife don’t wake me up in the middle of night,” Salamon said. “If I hear the results in the middle of the night I won’t be able to fall back asleep.”
Salamon said he felt uncertain and confused when he realized Donald Trump had been elected the next President of the United States.
“I didn’t think there were so many Trump supporters,” Salamon said. “Not all were driven by fear, hate, and racism, so I’m not sure what was the reason behind their votes.”
Olivia Jewell, an 18-year-old college student, had a similar reaction to the news. She decided to watch the results to the very end, saying she stayed up all night stressed out and crying.
Jewell, who attends Simmon’s College in Boston, supported Hillary Clinton. She said that her dad and a fair amount of her classmates at the Boston’s women’s college had voted for Trump.
“I’m just disappointed,” Jewell said. “Women’s suffrage has been around 100 years and here we are with Donald Trump. Maybe there’s more we need to be doing.”
In interviews with half a dozen voters outside of Boston City Hall yesterday, people of different ages, races, and occupations all were, in one way or another, surprised by the election outcomes. They were not alone. Donald Trump had not been predicted to win the presidency in most national polls. Even a senior advisor to Trump, just hours before the results came in on election night, had told CNN that a Trump win would take a miracle.
In the end, though, Trump triumphed, winning 290 electoral votes to Clinton’s 228. Michigan and New Hampshire are still undecided as of Friday.
Hector Santos, a 40-year-old accountant, was not happy with the results. He was worried about the effects that Trump presidency would have on the American people.
“He’s going to be working for the top 1 percent, people who already have means to continue to prosper,” Santos said. “He not going to do much for education and healthcare.”
Santos said he was also sad about the overwhelming Republican victory in the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Republican Party maintained a majority in both legislative bodies, holding 51 seats in the Senate and 239 in the House.
“[Trump] has a real means of getting bills passed that will not be beneficial,” Santos said.
He was not the only one apprehensive about a Trump administration.
“I can’t believe it’s real, it’s not a joke,” said 25-year-old Dillon.
Dillon, who did not provide his last name for fears of his views not being politically correct, works at an education nonprofit. He hopes Trump’s politics will change and appeal more towards the center now that he’s been elected.
“I hope Donald Trump is going to flip his opinions towards social issues and land more on the left,” Dillon said. “He was going for a republican base in the election.”
Dillon, who is white and middle-class man, said he is more hopeful that this change will occur more for the sake of others than himself.
“[Trump’s victory] means a lot more to people of color and women,” Dillon said. “It’s hard for me but I’m sure it’s harder for others.”
Not all were shocked by Trump’s historic win.
Megan Weathers, a 70-year-old nurse at the Boston Medical Center, said she just had a feeling he would be named the winner.
“[People] don’t want a woman, they don’t want Blacks, they want a man,” Weathers, who is a Black woman herself, said.
Weathers wasn’t too concerned about a Trump administration.
“It don’t matter who is the President, if they are able to do the job,” Weathers said.
And as to whether Donald Trump will do a good job as the next President?
“God will be the one who judges him,” she said, turning back to her paper.
damn..great read. Last line resonates.