Introduction

The next four years of this country  will be presided over by Donald J. Trump. He won the electoral college vote easily but lost the primary vote to Hillary Clinton. This came as a surprise to many political experts, pollsters, voters, and even non-voters alike.

The Protests

There have been many negative reactions to Trump from West High students in the days since the election. On Friday, over a hundred students left their classes at 2:30 p.m. to protest the results of what happened. They then gathered outside the main entrance of the school, carrying signs and yelling anti-Trump messages. Here is Samuel Fennell-Chametzky ‘20 on the protests: “I think that they have the right to do what they’re doing, because Trump is going to destroy America.”

The Candidates

Many students at West who were interviewed had opinions but did not have clear ideas of each candidate. Although the election is over, here is some information on Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton: 1. Trump. Donald Trump’s campaign slogan is “Make América Great Again.” His main goals are to rebuild and expand American infrastructure, stop millions of unauthorized immigrants from entering the country, and bring jobs back to America. He is pro-life. 2. Clinton. Hillary Clinton’s campaign slogan(s) were “Fighting for Us,” and “Stronger Together.” Her main goals were to expand health care, increase taxes on the rich, and make public college free or reduced cost. She was pro-choice. But, there were other options. Ben Houselog ‘20 supported Gary Johnson. Says Houselog, “(Hillary) wasn’t trustworthy and failed in 2008, which shows something. Trump made bad comments but has potential if he listens to people.” Robert Egeland ‘20 supported Jill Stein. “The Clinton Foundation used their money badly and Hillary said whatever would get her elected. I didn’t support Trump either because he is a Republican and doesn’t know what he’s doing.” Alexander Nelson ‘20, a non-aligned student, supported Mitt Romney in 2012 and thought he should’ve been the Republican Party’s nominee this year. He is not unlike many Romney supporters who turned away from Trump.“Trump was so unqualified and I thought Hillary was a smarter choice,” he says.

The Future

Nobody predicted this to happen. Some Democrats are turning towards 2020. “I want to see Elizabeth Warren run in ‘20 because she will push the party more progressive and become the first female president (if she wins),” says Fennell-Chametzky. Houselog, who supported Johnson, says he thinks if the democrats want to win, they should nominate “Joe Biden if he decides to; if not him, then Al Gore again.” Egeland said “Bernie should run again because he did well against Trump and he is very liberal.” Ronan Smith ‘20, a self-identified Democrat, likes the idea of Bernie but also Michael Bloomberg, because he “had experience in politics and… a substantial amount of wealth.” We can only wonder what will happen in President Trump’s America.