An unprecedented victory

In what may be one of the most unpredictable elections in America’s history, Donald J. Trump has won the presidency with a confirmed 279 electoral votes, as of Wednesday afternoon, and 48 percent of the popular vote. Media outlets began reporting the final states around 1:30 a.m., putting Trump above 270 electoral votes to win.

Hillary Clinton received 228 electoral votes and tied Trump in the popular vote at 48 percent. Before today, it had seemed that most Americans had a widespread belief that Clinton was bound to be the next President, whether they agreed with it or not. New York Times gave Clinton an 85 percent chance of winning over Trump’s 15 percent and CNN’s prediction model, which has correctly predicted the president since 1980, forecasted a big victory for Clinton.

Although all odds were against him, Trump managed to come out on top. This outcome can most likely be attributed to the silent majority of America that showed up at the polls in favor of Trump. One of the most shocking aspects of this election was Trump winning over seven of the eleven swing states, an outcome that most media outlets had not predicted.

Two weeks ago, when HHS students voted in a mock election, out of 838 students who voted, 469 of them had voted Clinton and only 151 had voted Trump. The nation’s results, however, have left some HHS students surprised.

“I most definitely did not expect this. I’m shocked with the outcome of the presidential race, but also with the local and congressional races results,” said Katie Donovan, senior. “It’s hard to be positive while looking at these results but I’m sure many people will step back up and learn from the challenges.”

As the electoral votes began to roll in last night, Josh Borkon, senior, tweeted that he fears for minorities and members of the LGBTQ community because Trump was leading the polls.

“It was so stressful and, like everyone, I was shocked. It was the biggest upset in American history. No one thought he was going to win,” Borkon said.

Some students, however, feel a Trump presidency is necessary for America. In commemoration of Trump’s victory, some HHS students anonymously repainted the rock by the side parking lot. The rock was spray painted white and reads: “Trump Victory Trump.”

“I support Donald Trump. When I saw the projections on one of the polling websites, I wasn’t surprised. When Trump did win, I was actually surprised of how many people actually like him because the feedback from our school was that not many people liked him,” said an HHS student who did not want to be identified.

Luke Yourzak, junior, did not believe that Trump could win the presidency, but second guessed himself when he looked at the polls last night.

“I didn’t go into it supporting anyone, but as time went by I wish I would have used my time better for the election. I thought Hillary was going to win, but I was pleasantly surprised when Donald won. I think, through his struggles, he is going to be a successful president against all odds,” Yourzak said.

Regardless of opinion, Donald Trump will officially be America’s 45th President of the United States.

“I think the outcome of this election says a lot about where America is right now as a country. It’s frightening, we are truly divided. There is a lot of work to do now but I’ll be interested in how the new president goes about being a leader for all people in America,” Donovan said.