Former Republican President Donald J. Trump was elected last week to a second term, beating out Democratic opponent Vice President Kamala Harris. The Presidential Inauguration will be held on Jan. 20, 2025, and officially reinstate Trump as Commander in Chief. He will be the second president in U.S. history to serve nonconsecutive terms; President Grover Cleveland was the first: 1885-1889; 1893-1897.
It was a night of success for Republicans across the country, as they took control of not just the Oval Office, but are also projected to control the Senate. The House of Representatives remains too early to determine. However, Republicans need just five more seats to achieve the majority with 218 seats while Democrats are looking for 15 seats.
Trump won by the largest margin of his three presidential campaigns thus far with a total of 312 electoral votes to Harris’ 226. He also won the popular vote for the first time despite his 2016 victory, garnering over 3 million more votes than Harris. A key to Trump’s win was his major victories in the battleground states of Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Maryland has been a Democratic state in every presidential election since 1988 when the state was won by President George H. W. Bush. That trend continued in 2024, with Maryland electing Kamala Harris as well as Democratic nominee for Senate, Angela Alsobrooks who will be Maryland’s first Black senator.
Frederick County was won by Kamala Harris by a margin of approximately 11,000 votes, per AP News.
“It’s very shocking that somehow we (elected) a man who has 34 felonies and who has said wildly inappropriate things on a national scale, while also almost inciting an insurrection last time he lost,” said Triston Barzey, a first-year culinary student at Frederick Community College.
Barzey said he not only is worried about the president-elect but for all of the federal government.
“I’m slightly concerned about all three branches of our government being a majority Republican due to some of the restrictive policies they may want to put into place,” he said.
First-year FCC student and pre-health major, Kara Haynes expressed a similar sense of shock regarding the results:
“I think it’s upsetting and disappointing, a lot of people were let down. I kinda just froze when I saw (the results),” she said.
Haynes expressed concerns about some of the Republican policies regarding healthcare.
“I’m worried about reproductive rights especially, but also just the wellbeing of everyone affected,” she said.
It was difficult to find pro-Republican students around FCC’s campus who were willing to comment on the election results publicly, but some did express excitement regarding the results.
The consensus was that Vice President Harris did not have good economic policies, and the three branches of government being Republican controlled will help to bypass legislative gridlock and allow bills to pass and take effect quicker.
FCC Dual Enrollment student Liam Hoheusle was disappointed in the election results but was not surprised.
“It was kind of expected, the Democrats did not run a good campaign,” he said. “They made it about just not picking Trump.”
Hoheusle was concerned about the Republican stances on the Department of Education.
“If Trump goes through with abolishing or defunding the Department of Education, it will make it more difficult for me to go to school as a student,” he said.
However, Hoheusle did express some optimism about the future:
“I think right now they will surprise us and do a good job… As long as no individual rights are being messed with, we will be fine.”
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