On the night of the 2024 presidential election, Nov. 5, millions of Americans watched as the election map turned redder by the hour and as hope seemed to fall further out of reach. The faith we had, the prayers that maybe Democrats could at least secure some swing states and Kamala Harris would win, was now shattered.

In the months, weeks and days leading up to the election, anxieties and tensions rose high — mine included. The night of the election, I settled into the basement of my residence hall with a few friends, watching election coverage on the television. None of us wanted to be alone.

Results began rolling in at 7 p.m. Kentucky and Indiana were highlighted in red, and Vermont was colored in blue. These states were predictable, but every added state that fell to the Republican party felt like an additional weight on our shoulders. California, New York and other historically blue states provided little comfort amid the turmoil the rest of the night brought. Every moment that passed built more uncertainty.

What voters were really worried about, though, were the swing states: Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — and it wasn’t looking good. At 2 a.m., panicked and on the verge of tears, I called my dad, and he told me to keep hope and to try to get some sleep. 

By 2:24 a.m. Nov. 6, the Associated Press officially called Pennsylvania, painting it in red and bringing Donald Trump to a sickening 267 electoral votes, only three away from a guaranteed win. 

Tired, defeated and losing hope, I checked the results one last time — beyond Harris winning Minnesota, they hadn’t budged — and fell asleep on the basement couch around 4:45 a.m. 

Once the Associated Press called Wisconsin for Trump about an hour later, the election was finally called. Donald Trump was officially reelected to a second term in office.

Had we learned nothing from the hellscape that was Trump’s first term? Did we forget about the events of Jan. 6, 2021, the horrendous handling of COVID-19, how he sent bodybags to Native American health centers when they asked for medical supplies and the easily preventable deaths of women who didn’t have access to proper abortion care? Do his 34 felony counts, four criminal cases, two impeachments and history of sexual misconduct mean nothing to the voters of the United States? 

Mass deportations, stripping job protections, removing discrimination laws, zero gun control and nationwide abortion bans are only some of the things Trump has promised he’ll do with a second term. Agenda 47 is not a myth. Trump fully intends to carry out everything written in his plan with no holding back and no mercy.

One of the factors contributing to Trump’s reelection is related to voters who chose to not vote at all or voted single-issue.

Single-issue voting can be downright dangerous. Ignoring the rest of a candidate’s platform and voting because of only one issue, or worse, not voting at all because you “don’t like either candidate,” isn’t right. No candidate can be 100% optimal for every person — it’s an impossible task. 

Still, one candidate had her sights on the people, while the other had his sights set on pure power. And yet, we chose the aspiring dictator.

As United States citizens, it is our responsibility to be informed about issues, vote and act in the interest of the country’s good and the future of democracy. The United States will always have the potential to be something beautiful, but with Trump in office, it is not possible.

I don’t entirely agree with Harris. I’m not blindly following her campaign, and I don’t think everything she says is right or true. As the results showed, the Harris campaign ultimately failed. But she was here for the overall good of the country, something Trump has proven he is not interested in, choosing to further only his own self-interests.

Even though it feels like hope is out of reach, we cannot give up. We have to keep going. We cannot let the world stop with these results. Keep studying, keep working and keep looking toward a chance at a better future. It feels so overwhelmingly uncertain at the moment, and I fear that the unease will not be settled any time soon.

So, in the meantime, take care of yourself. Do not let despair get in the way of your life, and remember that you are still allowed to grieve the things that have been lost. The rights, bodies and lives of people of color, women, LGBTQ+ people, immigrants and several more marginalized groups are under attack, but we cannot go out without a fight. 

Right now, staying alive and as healthy as possible may very well be one of the strongest forms of protest we have.

Antaine Anhalt is a first-year communication studies major. He can be reached at [email protected].