Just because the election is over doesn’t mean we should just sit back and allow the next four years to pass us by. Republicans won not only the presidency, but the House and Senate as well, meaning they could wield a massive influence — including the appointment of Supreme Court justices and presidential appointments. Despite the number of Republicans who seemed to oppose Donald Trump, like Paul Ryan, it looks like opposition to Trump from within the Republican Party has just melted away.
For a party that criticized President Barack Obama all eight years of his presidency for being a Muslim from Kenya, their current criticisms for the protesters ring hollow. Republicans were quick to express dissatisfaction with Obama both times he was elected, and yet, they think Democrats have rushed to judge the new president-elect. A president cannot take away our right to express our dissatisfaction with his policies. At the same time, the reasons Trump won must be analyzed. Those who oppose Trump must look within to see how we can better organize mobilization in future elections — it’s clear the lesser of two evils was not enough to make Democrats win.
We shouldn’t have to compromise with a president who threatens the very existence of Muslims and immigrants while he threatens the rights of many more. The stakes are simply too high. It wasn’t good enough to rely on Trump to dig himself into a deeper hole. In order to dismantle his opinions, you have to confront each head-on. Many will argue it’s time to stand with Trump now that he has been elected. “Give him a chance,” they say, “he hasn’t really had a chance to govern.”
Even if that were true a week ago, it’s not true anymore. He has had the chance to appoint people to his administration, and in the process he has revealed the direction his administration is going. It no longer makes sense for him to distance himself from those who have endorsed him if he is going to pick these people to serve in his administration.
Trump supporters react quite strongly if someone attacks their beloved president-elect about racism, homophobia or discrimination in general. They find someone else to blame it on. “Trump isn’t homophobic, it’s Pence,” they’ll say. But why would Trump nominate these people knowing that they are discriminatory? Since Trump is picking advisers who exclude huge swaths of the American population, this further reinforces the “Not My President” rhetoric. No matter who elected him, Trump has to recognize he’s now the president of all Americans, and he must protect all of them. If he doesn’t, we must hold him accountable.
Trump is known for prioritizing loyalty above all else, so it’s not surprising that Jeff Sessions, one of his first and most ardent supporters, was picked for attorney general. However, this appointment is unacceptable. His racism and homophobia will mean that hate crimes will not be a priority. Another appointee was Steve Bannon, the executive chairman of the alt-right, white nationalist website Breitbart. These are hardly benign people who have yet to show what policy they want — their policy positions are clear.
Advisers are supposed to be specialists in policy that make you better. In contrast, the Trump appointees only serve to echo his racism and further his misinformation. While the results of the 2012 GOP autopsy were not taken to heart, I hope they will not use this election to solidify their racism. Change still needs to happen. Despite the fact that a racist, misogynist and homophobic team was voted into the White House, people need to continue to organize for change in the midterms and 2020 elections.
Nicole Dan is a political science and journalism junior. Her column appears on Mondays.
