Now What?

6 November 2024

DISCLAIMER—I am seriously messed up by the results of the 2024 US Election 🤬😩😭🤯.

The November 5th election results were supposed to culminate in a decisive Harris-Walz victory, signaling an end to Donald Trump, his ludicrous and hateful lies, and his autocratic rhetoric.  A majority of voters were supposed to select Kamala Harris as the only reasonable choice for the presidency.  Unlike the vulgar, convicted felon and sexual predator candidate, Kamala seemed to understand the duties of the presidency and her responsibilities to us, to our country, and to the world.   

The US electorate, however, sent a much different message to citizens in the USA, its neighbors, and the world. 

Since the 2024 Democratic Convention, I had allowed myself to believe that a majority of US citizens would be excited to witness a woman sworn in as President of the United States.  After all, we had experienced the miracle of Barack Obama, so wasn’t it time for a capable woman to be elected by a majority of the American voters?  And, after all, other countries in the past decade had elected a woman as their heads of state.  It should be an easy task for a majority of voters in “the greatest country in the world” to elect a woman as our Commander in Chief.  In stark contrast to Trump, Kamala Harris could be trusted to assume the weighty challenges that face the United States and its world allies.  As I walked along the Charles Darwin Avenue in Cape Verde towards the beach on the afternoon of Tuesday, November 5, 2024, I was hopeful.  How hard was this decision after thoughtful consideration of both individuals and their qualifications for the presidency?

At 2 AM Cape Verde time, just as the polls were closing in the first US states, I allowed myself to hope that a large swath of voters across the country would decisively reject Trump.  I hoped that TRUMP-MAGA racism, xenophobia, homophobia, misogyny, isolationism, and despotic-leaning policies would be repudiated by American voters. That the grievance-driven supporters and their leader would be muted after the election results were certified.  That MAGA and Trump would eventually lose potency and power.  That the abhorrent Trump era would merit no more than a brief mention in our political history.  That our nation would move forward from the chaotic Trump years, and a majority of the citizens would breathe freely, knowing that our country had survived the dangerous egomaniac. And that our nation would emerge as a much stronger, battle-tested democracy from this domestic threat to our country because a majority had voted against the regime-building schemes of a tyrannical madman.

Instead, Trump and MAGA won. And, this post-election reality could signal the end of our fragile democracy that enough of us weren’t able to protect! The effects of the Trump Electoral College win and the slim popular vote majority will embolden the man, his advisors, his political allies, and his supporters.  The sweep of the US Presidency, the Senate, and the House of Representatives is a grim reality.  A MAGA-controlled Supreme Court is a worrisome probability.  Project 2025 policies that are enacted may have far-reaching consequences, directly and indirectly impacting domestic and international policies for decades.  If Constitutional guardrails are summarily ignored by Trump, his administration, his Congress, and his Supreme Court, what will happen? 

I warned you that I was in a dark funk……

It is now December 2, 2024. Just in the last few days, I was able to read an entire political analysis before I had to stop. This is progress. I hadn’t been able to do anything but sputter in a conversation, and now, I hope to slowly regain my ability to talk about what’s going on in this transition to 20 January 2025. I am gradually coming to terms with this harsh reality.