This story was originally published on Thursday, November 11, 2016.
By Carol Tannenhauser
WSR took to the streets Thursday and asked a random sampling of Upper West Siders “How are you reacting to, coping with, feeling about the results of the election?” The neighborhood voted overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton, but we found Trump supporters, too, and people who were ambivalent about both candidates.
Elevator man who came to America when he was 17 from Cuba:
“I don’t like him, but the people vote for him, America vote for him, so he’s the president. It was a free election. Over here it’s beautiful, free elections. In my country you don’t see nothing like that.”
Older Woman, entering building:
“I’m not coping. I’m stunned.”
Middle-aged woman riding a scooter, because of a broken heel, on her way to see the doctor:
“I’m hanging by a thread. I feel betrayed. I’m terrified about the complete loss of control of Congress and what’s going to happen to the Supreme Court. This is a disaster. When Bush was re-elected, there was so much anger, but this is different. It’s scary.”
Young man and older woman interrupt their conversation to answer the question:
Woman:
“You know what? This country can get anyone and do anything and be fine. That’s all I want to say. We’re capable of tolerating everything and we will. It’s a beautiful day, we’re strong, and in four years you change it. I’m fine.”
Man:
“I’m devastated by the loss. I raised money and campaigned for Hillary. But our republic will survive. We are a strong, resolute people. We have survived much worse than this.”
Delivery man:
“I’m afraid for Spanish people, Mexicans, Middle Eastern people.”
Construction worker:
“I don’t feel good for the Trump.”
Three men standing in a doorway, a super, a tenant, and the building manager. When the manager heard the question he snuck away:
Tenant, laughing:
“He voted for the Trump!”
Super:
“How we could elect someone who’s a liar, a thief, a cheater, a philanderer, an abuser? It goes against everything I grew up with that made any sort of moral sense. But we live on a coast. The Midwest thinks he’s wonderful. Meanwhile, my stocks are up! It’s not going to affect me badly. My social security is intact and, when I die, I’ll probably pay fewer estate taxes. But that’s not why I live here. There should be some kind of equalizing.”
Tenant (again):
“I tell you truth. I don’t like Trump. I don’t like Hillary.”
Newsstand man:
“I did vote for her, but she didn’t win, so what can I do? I’m Muslim, but I’m not afraid, because whatever he’s saying, it’s impossible to do. You have to get the Congress and everybody on board. One person cannot do everything he wants.”
Florist:
“We have no choice now. Whether we like it or we don’t, that’s our president.”
Truck driver:
“I wanted Bernie to win. I voted for Hillary, more on ideology than candidate. I didn’t get the person I wanted, but he’s my president and I feel we’ve got to get behind him and support him. I don’t see the point of protesting and rioting. I put my hope and faith that President Trump will pull it out.”
Neighborhood drug store, customer, clerk, owner, all men:
Customer:
“I’m not happy, but, you know, people get the results they deserve. I guess this is what we deserve.”
Clerk:
“You want me to be honest? I like it. I voted for Obama twice and still see no path for my community, the African-American community. My wife voted for Hillary. I voted for Trump. I came to this country when I was 18 and people give me a chance. I want to give Trump a chance.”
Owner:
“I’m thrilled! This is how I decided. Forget all the rhetoric, forget the groping; that’s meaningless when it comes to running the country. I’m at a table and in front of me is Iraq, Iran, Venezuela, Somalia, Syria. Who do I want next to me? I chose Trump, that’s the bottom line. Why? Because they don’t respect women in those countries at all, and that’s a problem. We are the leader of the world. We have to have respect. And, by the way, how about the fact that Trump’s daughter is the first and closest Jewish person in the White House? He would never not back Israel. He would never let his daughter down.”
Psychotherapist, woman:
“I’m coping really badly. I am a psychotherapist. People are reacting very, very strongly. I’ve had people come into the office and just sit down and cry for 20 minutes. I haven’t seen anything like this since September 11th. Helping other people cope is helpful to me because it gives me something to focus on other than my own feelings. My advice is to focus on the tasks we need to do and consider ways we can be socially active. We should keep our eyes wide open, not withdraw from the social arena, and not give up to feeling helpless or hopeless, but continue to stay in there.”
Doorman:
“The government will tame him down. They’ll teach him the rules. The American government is bigger than Donald Trump and they’ll calm him down. I’m glad he’s there. It’s a change. So, God bless him. I wish him the best.”
Guy sweeping the sidewalk:
“The only thing that worries me is that the whole government is Republican.”
Eleventh-grade girls, eating slices in a local pizza place:
Girl #1:
“Oh, God, not again! In school, that’s the only topic that’s going around.”
Girl # 2:
“It’s really depressing and disappointing how someone with no political experience is the president.”
Girl # 3:
“Someone so racist and ignorant and sexist and homophobic! He’s against everything that makes our country and New York City so diverse. Technically, we don’t have any support anymore.”
Nanny from Grenada, pushing a toddler in a stroller:
“I’m a little bit disappointed, because I feel Donald Trump is not the fittest one to run a country like the United States of America. The United States of America is an example to the world and he brings the wrong message. He preaches hate and brings fear into the hearts of people. He talks about deporting them, breaking up families. I’m an American citizen, but I know people who are really scared.”
Book Culture, between 81st and 82nd on Columbus Avenue. Young woman and man clerks, and 40ish woman browsing:
Woman clerk:
“We have a writing desk and a list of local and national representatives. We’re encouraging people to write letters and we’ll pay the postage and send them out every couple of days. We think it’s good to encourage people to feel that they can still say something after the results.”
Man clerk:
“I feel defeated – emotionally and mentally defeated. And frightened.”
Woman Clerk:
“I think there’s something comforting about coming to work here and being on the Upper West Side: a sense of us all being unhappy together.”
Woman browsing:
“What am I doing to make myself feel better? Eating comfort food, like porridge and chocolate. And my son and I watched a totally distracting movie last night. No news. I want to maintain the denial as long as possible. Reaching out to a lot of friends through email and texts. Trying to come up with some positive thoughts about what to do going forward, like working to turn the Congress Democratic in two years. And I’m trying to create smaller communities, because of feeling estranged from the rest of the country. I almost don’t want to leave the Upper West Side.”
Finally, Starbucks:
Psychoanalyst in her 80s:
“I have to listen to everyone else not coping!”
Man on his laptop:
“I think it’s really important not to tell people how to feel. My daughter is 15 years old and she was in school yesterday and all her friends were in tears, all of them. They wanted a woman president. It’s appropriate to cry at any age. It’s disgusting that he won. He’s a disturbing human being. It’s not about me being a Democrat or not liking the Republican platform. I can get with Republicans if they’re normal and have good hearts. This guy’s a bum. He’s a bum.”
* * *
Stay tuned for a look at how the Upper West Side is feeling after the 2022 Midterm Elections.
I took the subway down to the Strand that morning. As others said, you could hear a pin drop inside the car. In Union Square, three young people were offering free hugs to passersby.
I think we have been very damaged since then as a country. Trump helped make it fashionable, not covert, for those who can get away with it to glory in breaking rules while imposing rules upon other people.
I hope by now the election denying spiel is running out of welcome. How many times do the villagers want to hear the boy cry “Wolf!”, especially when it’s looking as though the boy has been killing sheep?
My husband and I flew to SF, CA the following day to visit our daughter who was a public school teacher there. The plane was silent. We had excitedly gone to Book Culture the day before Election Day to buy books for her classroom, and to read to the kids. There were several Hilary Clinton bios and books about the first woman president of the US. Her class is mostly new arrivals to the US and they seemed stunned too. I’m sure their parents were very worried about their security in this country. Reading one of the books to them, I cried a little.
“We had excitedly gone to Book Culture the day before Election Day to buy books for her classroom, and to read to the kids. There were several Hilary Clinton bios and books about the first woman president of the US.”
Kind of presumptive of you. How like HRC.
Optimistic, more like.
No, HRC was a weak candidate, who actively did not run a ground game in close states, eg Wisconsin.
She believed her “yes people” and her marketing that the likes of the NY Times reported as verified trends and facts.
I thought she’d win, was shocked by Trump’s “win”, but understood it would be very close.
In fact, it was. DJT only “won” because vote counting authorities in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Florida actively tossed all presidential election votes in cities where HRC did really well, so: Detroit and Milwaukee. Don’t know which Florida areas it was. Then when given a chance to have Michigan thoroughly recounted, HRC refused. She’s the one who stopped Jill Stein’s recount of Michigan, not the judge.
This was a great piece. Thanks for re-posting!
Just the beginning of the Trump saga, which ended (for a while) on one of the most amazing days, conversely, on the UWS (when Biden was officially declared the winner).
And now… here we go again (maybe) with this disgusting excuse of a human attempting to recapture the iron throne.
All the comments made about treatment of minorities and immigrants really struck me; the hate that that man spewed even in these early days was just a harbinger of things to come. The Supreme Court … what a disaster. Interestingly no one mentioned Roe v Wade – it seemed almost impossible then to believe that it could be overturned, and yet….
All fears valid.
I wonder how those supporters feel now.
No, in late 2016 it wasn’t impossible to conceive of Roe v Wade being overturned. After all, Ruth Bader Ginsberg was known to be very sick, Mitch McConnell had refused to allow Obama’s nominee to be seated, or even vetted by the Senate.
That’s right, RGB should have retired while Obama was in office and the Democrats had the Senate. She shouldn’t have let herself suppose that pancreatic cancer is a type of cancer that people recover from and then live for decades.
We survived Trump.
We’ll survive two more years of Biden.
But the question worth thinking of is this:
Will and how we will survive four more years of Hochul?
Bro, she’s only been governor since August of last year.
You are correct, but the damage she is inflicting is already harsh, and her hard nose versus crime is laughable. I hope for the best and wish her luck, but prior to today there is not any indications that she is listening.
Yes, we will survive, and I voted for Zeldin.
Let’s all let go of this and move on.
He is still a bum. Still a despicable human being.
We are better with Biden. But the Dems have to find STRONG LEADERS who can win elections! And people have to get off their asses and VOTE!
Exactly
I see TDS is alive and well. Trump is yesterday’s news, move on already. Geesh
Obviously Trump ISN’T yesterday’s news! Never has been, considering he’s been In our faces everyday spewing crapola. And now he’s running again. So the phrase “TDS” needs to be retired from rhetoric. In fact, he should have retired. Just sayin’
Sheesh, NO ANGER here from Trumpsters! Wow, I was expecting the worst. But this is good; enough of the bickering…until 2024, of course.
Well, the conservative editorial board of the Wall Street Journal just threw Trump a boatload of shade today saying he has lost a lot more than he has won since 2016: GOP lost control of the House in 2018; Trump lost the White House in 2020; Republicans lost control of the Senate in 2021, and they dramatically underperformed despite high expectations in the 2022 midterm election. Ergo, Trump has lost a lot more than he has won. Whomp, whomp!
The Murdoch propaganda machine will be sweet on Trump as soon as he starts rising in the polls again. Just wait.
Vaguely interesting , but the EC votes of NY State weren’t in play in 2016.
Oh, and Trump only won because vote counting “authorities” in MI, WI, and FL managed to lose votes in districts where HRC did well. So that’s all presidential votes in Detroit.
HRC chose not to ask for a recount of Michigan, which would have confirmed her win there.
Had HRC become president in Jan. 2017, we’d likely have been at war with Russia over Syria. Now it’s Ukraine.
America didn’t vote for him. He lost the popular vote twice.
I learned a lot about liberals the day Joe Biden was elected. Cars beeping their horns driving down Broadway, people yelling and laughing happily, while the entirety of Broadway, each and every store, was newly boarded up in the event that Biden lost. That pretty much says it all to me.
True. Even more true that I learned a lot about conservatives, shortly after the day Joe Biden was elected. Armed guerillas, fresh from their mothers’ basements, yelling and laughing happily while they ransacked and desecrated the temple of our democracy (which should have been boarded up to protect it), killing people and seeking to kill elected leaders. That pretty much says it all to me, too.
How much more do you want to over-generalize? When will we focus on competent, middle-of-the-road, common-sense problem solving, without virtually meaningless labels – instead of the most extreme, most marginal elements of each party?
Wow, this is brilliant. I’ll never forget that day.
Adding mine:
I wore all black, but not typical New York black. Black for a funeral, or for the apocalypse. Maybe a little bit of both.
I took the B/C to work and ran into a friend at my transfer, 59th; we hugged without speaking.
At the office, people were crying. Walking aimlessly and sobbing. A colleague told me her son had asked her why the bully won, and she didn’t know what to say.
Since the summer, I had felt that trump would win, but I couldn’t believe it had actually happened. I had a big project due but everybody forgot about it, and all we could do was sit around and mourn.
Six years later, it feels just as bad as it felt then, because it meant that there were enough people in this country who would sell all of us out for the false promise of selfish betterment.