President-elect Donald Trump's victory over Kamala Harris has resulted in mixed reactions from UofM students. The Helmsman posted a poll to find out how students felt.
Most poll respondents identified themselves as politically on the left (62.5%), compared to the right (18.5%), and center (12.5%).
The results came as a surprise, but also unsurprising to multiple students.
"So many people were predicting that Kamala would win-- from political scientists to the bellwether counties,” said sophomore Courtney Evans.
“I knew America wouldn't vote for a black woman as president,” said freshman Erin Clark.
“Joe Biden’s nomination in 2020 allowed for Trump to win in 2024, or Biden announcing his bid for re-election in April 2023 allowed Trump to win. Both Biden’s debate performance in June 2024 and his withdrawal from the race the following month gave Trump more confidence in his ability to win,” said freshman Wade Crumpton.
Due to Trump infamously refusing the 2020 election results, the poll also asked how confident respondents were of democracy. The poll showed that 43.8% of respondents lacked confidence in democracy, 31.3% were confident, and 25% were mixed.
Students were also asked how they felt about the future of the nation.
“My rights are about to be stripped away,” said sophomore Louise Albertini.
“I think that the future of this nation is bright. Come midterms we will see how much progress is made, if any. For me, these past 4 years have been some of the hardest in my life,” said sophomore education major Fenton Williams.
“I feel like the future of the nation is great and in the best place it’s been since 2016 and even earlier than that. I think Trump will help boost our economy and bring it back to where it was pre-COVID. I also believe our foreign relations will improve by an extraordinary amount based on Trump's good relations with China and other nations. I think people will have more jobs now that illegal immigration will now be controlled. A lot of people are worried, but these fears will go away once Trump improves our nations and makes our lives easier,” said freshman Joseph Maichrowicz.
“The incoming Trump administration will, no doubt, create a period of immense struggle, between his plans laid out in Project 2025 and the sexism espoused by his male supporters. Despite this, there will be a day when the damage he will inevitably do will be rectified and he will be remembered in the same light as Adolf Hitler,” said freshman Wade Crumpton.
