Why I Regret Voting for Trump
I have been pondering this ever since that November night when I filled in the box next to President Trump’s name. It wasn’t like I became instantly sick to my stomach after casting my vote or that I rushed back into the building to erase my grave mistake before driving home for dinner. Desperately wanting to switch my vote to Biden or Kanye or anyone else so I could sleep at night and know that I “did the right thing.” It wasn’t anything like that; I almost wish it was. There was just something in the back of my head that made me think twice about voting for President Trump. There was a different feeling this time that I couldn’t comprehend.
At first, I thought the feeling had to do with my ever-changing political wants, desires, and needs. Neither the Republican nor Democratic party was aligning with my new political views. For the first time in my voting life, I observed that both parties had one thing in common, wanting to keep their power. They both desperately wanted to stay in control of anything and everything. As bad as this is, it wasn’t the feeling. I wondered if the environment that this election was taking place in was causing the feeling. 2016 was thirty-five years ago at this point, and a lot can change from election year to election year, but I didn’t think this was the feeling either. It had to be something else, but I still wasn’t sure what it was.
What was that feeling I had months ago? Why do I genuinely regret voting for Trump? It was that win, lose, or draw for Trump, America was going to suffer, and I don’t think anyone knew what level of suffering it would be.
When I watched the disorder in Washington DC unfold, I was beyond words. It was the most un-American, unconstitutional, and unbelievable thing that could have occurred. It seemed like a movie was playing out in real life. It’s one thing to be a sore loser, but it’s an entirely different thing to have your followers storm the Capital. It made everyone go into lockdown and fear for their lives. All because of hurt feelings from an election. Voter fraud or no voter fraud, watching what happened at the Capital was something I actually never thought would or could take place on American soil.
As a nation, we have always been a beacon of optimism for the world. A land of law and order. The little country that could. In the future, I don’t know how we will be able to make America whole again after such a dreadful and ghastly event.
We headed into the election divided like never before. Now, after the election, I think we are just as divided, if not more so. When Bush left office, he began to paint. When Obama left office, he began to write. I’m sincerely frightened at what Trump will do when he leaves office. Will he be able to let go peacefully, or based on the events that just transpired, will he have a group of supporters that would be willing to do anything for their “president.” Only time will tell.