The 2024 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 5. Former president Donald J. Trump was re-elected to be the 47th president of the United States. Trump had 49.9% of the popular vote, while Harris only gained 48.4% of the vote. The final decision for president is made by the Electoral College. The candidates needed 270 electoral votes to win. Ultimately Trump received 312 votes while Harris received 226.
“I felt pretty good about the election results,” sophomore Cade Venable said. “I think that Trump will restore the economy to what it was. I also think that he will bring back the peace that was present during his presidency.”
Bowie did a school-wide poll on the elections and the support for each candidate has varied. With about 1/3 of students supported Trump while 2/3 supported Harris. These reactions have been shared through social media and student gatherings.
“It would have been great to have our first female president,” junior Bennett Hadley said. “Ever since the beginning of time, men have gotten the opportunity again and again to win. It’s not about women versus men, it is just about the playing field being equal.”
Hadley shared his opinions on an Instagram story the day after the election, however, he was not the only one. Many individuals shared their feelings of triumph or defeat via social media apps such as Instagram, TikTok, X, and Facebook.
“I think social media impacted people in a negative way after the election,” junior Riley Redmer said. “Social media typically feeds you things that align with your views and often alienates the opposite opinions causing people to be more divided.”
Supporters of Trump highlighted their admiration for him and discussed what they hope to see in the future of his administration.
“I admire his ability to be a good negotiator,” Venable said. “Especially with foreign adversaries like Iran and China.” I am hoping that he will cut back taxes to what they were, and I hope that he keeps deregulating the economy to where businesses are able to grow.”
On the other end of the spectrum, opponents of the Trump administration discuss their concerns about the future president’s morals and what his intentions are behind gaining back office.
“I am concerned about his plans,” Redmer said. “I don’t know what will happen, and it’s scary. Hopefully, people will realize that they made the wrong decision by electing Trump.”
According to The Guardian, Trump is a legally defined sex offender, having been found liable for the sexual assault of magazine writer E Jean Carrol. Carrol was awarded $5 million in damages. On January 26, 2024, a jury also found Trump liable for defamation against Carrol for remarks that he made after the first verdict and she was awarded an additional $83.3 million in damages.
“I think that it is very concerning that we have a sex offender as president, and that is in no way an opinion,” Hadley said. “It is a fact and it’s honestly disgusting that we have a president like that.”
However sexual assault is not the only conviction Trump has. BBC states that the state of New York convicted him of 34 felony counts for falsifying business records and he was found guilty on all counts in regards to the hush money that he gave to an adult film star. However Trump has not been sentenced for these crimes, because the sentencing has been put on hold while he is office.
“It is not even about politics at this point,” Hadley said. “In a perfect world, it would be okay to have different opinions, but in this specific election, we have a convicted felon as president. At this point, it’s about morals and who you are as a person.”
These differing opinions have caused a tense atmosphere and teachers are beginning to notice a shift in their classroom when it comes to the topic of politics.
“I noticed that some students were pretty upset while others seemed to be in a good mood,” rhetoric teacher Kimberly Wiedmeyer said. “I had a couple of students say they didn’t want to be at school. In the same classroom, there were different people who felt like they won.”
Hadley, who supported Harris in this election, defended his choice to back the democratic candidate, considering those who favored Trump as misguided.
“I think the straight white men who voted for Trump are completely self-centered and living in their own world,” Hadley said. “They have the privilege of not worrying about their rights being taken away. The women who voted for him are completely delusional because he has said time and time again that he does not support women and their rights in any way.”
Venable cited social media as one of the reasons why people voted for Harris. Venable believes that these voters were following the trends and complying to what influencers tell them to do.
“I do not think that they are bad people,” Venable said. “I just disagree with them on a couple of major things. I think some of them are hearing things in the media and doing what influencers tell them and they don’t take any time to research the economy and government.”
According to NBC DFW Texas has historically favored the republican party. However, in recent elections, the large cities are aligned with the Democratic Party. Austin, Houston, Dallas, and El Paso are a few.
“I do not agree with many people in Austin,” Venable said. “It is a cool place to live though, it has a good environment and schools but I don’t have anything against the people I disagree with.”
Trump isn’t the only person who was reelected this year. Ted Cruz was voted in for his third term as junior senator of Texas. Cruz won against democratic competitor Colin Alred and libertarian Ted Brown. Cruz is a member of the Republican Party and as a senator, he represents the State of Texas in Congress.
“I believe that Ted Cruz is worse than Trump,” Hadley said. “He has specifically said that he is against gay marriage, and as an openly gay person, that is a threat to my rights. He is also completely disrespectful to women and seeing as he has two daughters I think that it is very hypocritical of him because he is not supporting his own kids.”
However not everyone agrees with Hadley’s dispositions. Venable stated that he thinks that Ted Cruz will bring economic prosperity to Texas
“He is going to stop spending so much money which will cause inflation to go down,” Venable said. “Inflation causes high interest rates. A decrease in inflation will lower interest rates. So, it will become a lot more feasible got people to be able to buy homes and it will also be a lot cheaper in general.”
The Texas Tribune wrote about the protests that occurred on the Texas State campus. Two men who were not students or faculty of the university were on campus with large signs carrying messages for the student body and staff targeted towards women and the LGBTQIA+ community. These men were from an organization called Official Street Preachers. They drew a large crowd of people and had to be forcefully escorted off of the campus.
“I think this behavior was absolutely horrible,” Hadley said. “It is an example of what people will do when they believe they have the upper hand. I do not see the point of not thinking that everyone deserves equal rights and a safe place to live.”
