Commentary

Opinion: The Politics We Are Stuck With

A Black, South Asian Indian woman from Oakland — the first ever to be elected to the United States presidency. That was the headline of hope. Kamala Harris represented joy and positivity. Her election would have been a historic win for America and our country’s great diversity. But on Election Day, the electorate did not turn the page on Donald Trump.

Published

7 months ago

November 6, 2024

Oakland Post

Courtesy of Donald J. Trump Facebook Page.

By Emil Guillermo

A Black, South Asian Indian woman from Oakland — the first ever to be elected to the United States presidency.

That was the headline of hope.

Kamala Harris represented joy and positivity. Her election would have been a historic win for America and our country’s great diversity.

But on Election Day, the electorate did not turn the page on Donald Trump.

Was it a gut punch or a reality check?

When major networks called Pennsylvania for Donald Trump, it was essentially game over. There was no way that Harris could get to 270 Electoral College votes without Pennsylvania.

Trump, with substantial leads in Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and Arizona, seemed likely to get the votes needed to become the 47^th president of the United States.

Now we don’t have to worry about the peaceful transfer of power as CFDT34, (Convicted Felon Donald Trump, 34 counts), the twice-impeached former president gets to call the White House home again. It enables him to avoid practically all his legal problems and possible prison time, a prime motivator for his seeking re-election.

That makes invoking his favorite parts of Project 2025 — deportations of undocumented immigrants and the vengeful roundup of his political dissidents, the “enemy from within” — the sour cherries on top of his electoral victory.

And who will stop him? The checks and balances are all gone. The Senate and possibly the House will be in Republican control. The Supreme Court and the Judiciary already are.

Where does that leave good, non-elite regular people who tried to do the right thing this election?

Among them: The women angered over reproduction rights.

Activists who fought against further erosion of civil and voting rights.

The undocumented concerned about impending ICE roundups.

The parents of trans-children, used to polarize voters and will now face real discrimination.

The voters repulsed by the hateful, misogynistic, sexist, racist, bigoted sentiments that came out of the Trump campaign.

They will all either find a way to stay enthused enough to keep fighting for our rights in our democracy or they will drop out and join the ranks of the so-called “low propensity/low information” voter, go back to their lives, and tune out until some politician or issue comes around to turn them back on.

Maybe they go with the flow and learn to hang with Trump. And keep quiet.

You may be one of those who voted, but did it secretly, not publicly. You stayed private maybe because you felt the fear of being trolled. Or you feared the threat of violence.

Trump talked about rifles training on Liz Cheney’s face. That could be yours.

Across the U.S, 36% of voters said they would feel scared if Trump is elected president, according to an early CNN exit poll on Tuesday.

Another 71% said they were concerned about violence as a result of the election.

On Election Day, American voters were afraid.

Now, the presumed president-elect Trump’s brand of bullying politics leads the way.

There is good reason to be afraid in the New America we did not expect.

About the Author

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. See his micro-talk show on www.patreon.com/emilamok. He performs an excerpt from his Emil Amok Monologues, “Transdad,” Nov.18 at the Marsh, 1062 Valencia St., San Francisco. Tickets here: https://themarsh.org/monday-night-marsh-stream/

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

VP Harris Bids Farewell to Howard University Crowd, Urges Supporters to Keep Fighting for America

Don't Miss

Will Gov. Newsom’s New Film and TV Tax Credit Prioritize Diversity?

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

13 hours ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.