Voters Decide a Felon in Office is Okay, but a Woman? Never.

Arrogant. Unpredictable. Criminal. Words that, when associated with a presidential candidate, would derail any campaign. Yet, in our recent election, these traits were deemed unimportant by Americans nationwide as they made the decision that a reckless man, who has only proven to be a threat to democracy as we know it, was more acceptable than electing our first female president. This election was anticipated to be historic, but the milestone most of us expected and hoped for wasn’t the one we received. While we could have been making history with Kamala Harris, who not only would have been our first female president, but also our first South Asian American president, we will instead see Donald Trump take office in January as our first felon president, with his 34 felony counts. 

As a student still too young to post a ballot of my own, I found myself feeling nothing short of disappointment as I watched the night of November 5th unfold. For as long as I can remember I’ve been taught to trust adults, as they will make the responsible choice. I’ve been raised to see that leaders should hold integrity and good morals, and that elections should bring us forward - not backwards. And this choice is a step back. This election should have been an opportunity to show young women that the US is finally ready to progress and elect more women into power, instead it only tells uneducated young men that actions such as racism, misogyny, and rape will not prevent them from becoming the most powerful person in the country. I feel anger and betrayal as I realize that some of the adults around me, the same ones who have instilled values in me and other young people that hard work is important, and actions have consequences, are now voting for a man with traits we are taught to reject and whose actions we are warned are dangerous and to be avoided at all costs. 

Just to clarify, I do not believe that Kamala Harris’s gender and race were the only factors in this election, but they were undeniably a major one. With them, like all elections, were policy preferences, specifically foreign relations and economics, and these had an impact of their own in showing the real consequences of lack of education in typically red states - and yes, there is a direct correlation between states with the lowest education standards and states that Donald Trump won. If any of these Trump voters who thought to themselves that “the economy was better under him and absolute shit under Biden” had ever taken a basic high school level economics class - or conducted a simple Google search before heading to the polls - they would have realized that the economy under Trump was largely shaped by Obama’s policiemrdzrdzdcs, and the economy under Biden was still shaped by Trump’s own policies, and not to mention just after a global pandemic which shut the world down for a year. Maybe Trump supporters aren’t just struggling in education standards, but lack a basic sense of memory, not to mention awareness that we live in 2024, not the 1800s, and technology has created a world where there is no valid excuse for overlooking the truth. 

In July, Hillary Clinton revealed she was unable to “break that highest, hardest glass ceiling” in her historic presidential campaign in 2016 and gave warning to Democrats and Harris of the challenges of a woman - particularly one of color - at the top of a major party’s ticket, but that she believed Harris could very well do what she hadn’t been able to. Despite this hope, Harris’ loss in November looked almost identical to that of Clinton eight years ago, leaving women throughout America even more heartbroken. In 2016, Trump won his first term by winning 304 electoral votes against Clintons 227; now in 2024, Trump won his second term through his 312 electoral votes - to make the loss worse: he also claimed the win for popular vote. This loss was followed by various politicians like Clinton, who had warned of the disastrous effects of a Trump win before, coming out to tell Americans - specifically Democratic voters - that the future of our country depends on what we do next. There is no doubt that these statements have been particularly hard to write, especially Clinton’s, who has now had to watch another woman lose to Donald Trump. 

The results of the 2016 and 2024 elections bring up questions of unfair treatment of women in American politics - which is even more relevant now during a time where all women's basic rights are being threatened and reproductive rights are being disvalued and diminished following the overturning of Roe v Wade. After both of these losses, “people would vote for a woman, just not that woman” was not an uncommon phrase to hear. But if neither of these women were president worthy, will Americans ever deem a woman to be? In a recent article by the Atlantic, a communications professor at Colorado State University stated that “American voters tend to believe in the abstract that they support that idea of a woman candidate, but when they get the real women in front of them, they find some other reason not to like the candidate.” It’s not just this professor who admits this though, in fact, in a study conducted by Reuters in October found that over half of registered voters said that sexism was a major factor in the US, and 15% admitted that they would not be comfortable having a woman as president. 

Double standards in media and general public perception only worsen the challenges for women in the political world, and whether people are willing to see it or not, sexism is still in many ways deeply prominent in American society. Take the presidential debate as an example. Kamala Harris presented herself with composure and refrained from direct insults towards Trump, whereas he clearly spewed out insults on her character, something that women face more than ever in any career along with comments on appearance, yet while this was the majority of the debate - which was not unexpected considering Trumps general asshole demeanor - his supporters still applauded him for being “strong” and “confident”, words which should have been replaced with “baseless” and “arrogant”. This praise Trump has gotten so used to isn’t just unfair; it’s sexist politics in action. Research shows that - due to clear gender norms - women tend to communicate more politely, working to build support and compromise, while men more try to dominate conversations and make it seem as though they have the control - not all men do this consciously, but it is extremely common. Within politics, women are expected to be polite, measured, and likeable, where men can be as loud and obnoxious as ever and still get credit for being “leaders”. Women are put under a microscope, where every word they say in a speech, post, or debate is dissected and judged, whereas men are rewarded and praised for atrocious traits which in an ideal world would end any person's career. These stark differences in the way men and women are viewed makes for a political culture which only continues to favor male candidates. 

The results of this election should be a wake up call. Americans should be angry. If you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention. Anger is what drives people to demand better, and to hold the people in power accountable. While hope seems like an easier response, hope means nothing if not followed by action. It’s just strings of empty words, nothing less than useless. It’s easy to go about life as if nothing has happened, acting as if the four years to come won’t really affect you - especially if you come from a higher income home.  And no, the worry should not consume your life, but there is nothing about the situation so many people will be put in that is not concerning. For women, for people of color, for those a part of the LGBTQ+ community, and for many more this election was a major setback. A reminder that no matter how far we have come, an equal world is far from over. It’s frustrating to see just how many people have subconsciously treated this election as if it was a sports game, calling up friends and mourning the loss an hour or two of November 6th, and then moving on as if it is nothing to worry about, rolling their eyes as people around them continue question the future of our country, and holding the “well we can’t change anything now” mindset. Of course we can’t go back in time and change the results of the election to favor Harris, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter anymore. You don’t want to be left wondering how we let things get worse than it already is when you could have done something about it.