Where We Go From Here

One week ago, former President Trump defied odds and expectations, flawed polls and false prophets, to lead the biggest Republican presidential landslide in decades. Already, what is likely to be four years or more of finger-pointing has begun. Eight years ago, it was simple enough to underscore the faults of the Clinton campaign: ignorance of midwestern voters, dismissal of various elements of the changing Obama coalition, and of course, the hubris of the candidate. Today, the new taglines have already begun to roll out.

The fact is, the momentum behind Republicans was dramatic. Voters rejected what they perceived as an ailing economy, which stimulus had pushed to inflation in the Biden Administration’s attempt to claw out of the Covid recession. Their sweep across the country suggests that there could have been little done to defeat them. Vice President Harris attempted to concoct a broad coalition across the American people, and a platform that would appeal to them. It’s unlikely a reconfiguration of priorities or an alternative standard bearer could have fared much better. Yet now, there are many across the spectrum of Harris’s supporters who would point the finger at the prominence of the other side within this coalition. This is how we lose in 2028.

It’s unreasonable and unrealistic to assume that the presidency and Congress will slip into our grasp if we stand by and tear our allies apart. The opposition must unify, and focus on the prize of rebuilding an option palatable for Americans across demographics and localities for 2026, 2028, and beyond, or face the consequences of further marginalization.

We were routed. The next four years will be rough for many of us, and far from without consequences. Americans embraced a candidate who posed a clear and present threat to democracy. For this new opposition, acceptance of those who chose this future, who have elected to condemn the world to its consequences, does not seem an easy proposition. The hatred and zealotry of the new Trump agenda is terrifying. But his voters are our neighbors. There is no sense in pledging unity behind a man who has worked relentlessly to annihilate our institutions and divide us by fear, but abandoning those with whom we staunchly disagree is not an option. We must continue to engage with each other because this land, and this world, are ours together, and because there is no alternative. Hating each other and shunning ideological opponents will bring no solace, and no progress. We can only take what we have and move on.

-Stephen R. Gaughan

Class of 2026