By Shirin Batra ‘28 (Reporter)
On Wednesday, November 6th, 2024 many FCS students arrived at school feeling lost. Some eyes looked puffy, other people lacked energy, and there was an unsettling silence, presumably because of the outcome of the presidential election results.
This was an unusual election, as president-elect Donald Trump lost to President Joe Biden in 2020 but decided to run again in 2024. Only one other president in our country’s history has been elected to two non-consecutive terms, Grover Cleveland – our 22nd and 24th president. While Trump won the 2024 election, some members of the G.O.P. had hoped that there would be more choice in terms of Republican candidates. In the initial Republican primaries, the candidates included Chris Christie, Tim Scott, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, among others, but one by one, all of the candidates eventually dropped out of the race as they realized they had no chance of winning. By the middle of the summer, it became clear that the only viable Republican candidate would be Donald Trump.
On June 27th, CNN hosted a debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, consisting of topics such as immigration, foreign policy, climate change, abortion rights, and social security. Maeve Reston, The Washington Post’s national political reporter remarked, “Trump’s performance was full of his usual exaggerations and falsehoods… but it’s clear the main thing that many voters are going to remember is the striking contrast between Trump’s energy and vitality and Biden’s struggle to deliver his points in a succinct and understandable way.” Many voters had previously expressed concerns surrounding Biden’s fitness for office, and this debate did not appear to mitigate their worries. Shortly after the debate took place, many individuals encouraged Biden to drop out of the race, and finally, about a month later, on July 21st, Joe Biden officially withdrew himself from the race and endorsed Kamala Harris. (AP News, https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-misinformation-election-debate-trump-biden-577507522762aa10f6ee5be3a0ced2bb).
With Kamala Harris as the official Democratic candidate and only 107 days until Nov. 5th, the stage was set for what many Americans believed would be a very competitive election. As shown in the table above, the race was predicted to be very close, with different news outlets predicting different outcomes as the race progressed. Despite the unpredictability leading up to election night, according to the Pew Research Center, only 32% of Americans reported that they were surprised by the final outcome. Still, some students at FCS reported feeling blindsided. Violet Kenny ‘27 shared, “My initial reaction was shock…I do hope that everyone learns a lesson about voting and utilizing the power we have been given.”
Not only were the predictions mixed, but so were voters’ priorities. Surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center illustrate the most important issue for each party. This election season, the topic most important to Republican voters was the economy, followed by immigration. However, for many Democrats, abortion rights were almost equally as important as the economy, with immigration being significantly less important.
Though he has not provided details for all of his ideas, the president-elect has shared some of his broad plans for the next four years, particularly about the issues that his voters deemed most important – immigration and the economy. In terms of immigration, Donald Trump has vowed to implement mass deportations and also deport any international student who voices support for Palestine. Furthermore, he plans to, in some cases, expel undocumented immigrants without court hearings.
Regarding tariffs and taxes, Trump has proposed a 10-20% percent tariff on all international imports and a 60% tariff on all Chinese imports, which is projected to cost the average American family an additional $2,600 a year. He also plans on lowering the corporate income tax rate from the current 21% to 15%. A study conducted by the Wharton School of Business estimates that this tax reduction will reduce tax revenue by $54 billion through fiscal year 2028. The Institute of Tax and Economic Policy has calculated the distributional impact of Trump’s tax plan. The richest 1% of Americans will likely see a 1.2% tax cut in their annual income taxes. Americans whose income falls in the bottom fifth percentile of earnings, on the other hand, will most likely see a 4.8% increase in their annual income taxes. (AP News, https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-wins-second-term-policies-de3dcf0f173b42602b258042fd7aaafb).
While some people are skeptical of Trump’s policies and his cabinet picks, the American government system was built upon the principle of checks and balances. The intention is for a president’s policies to be thoroughly examined and questioned by the legislative and judicial branches before being implemented. Some fear, however, that Trump seeks to strengthen the role of the executive branch and lessen the influence of other governing bodies.
Whether one supported Donald Trump or was disappointed by his victory, the hope is that our country and our FCS community will unite around the values that America has always stood for – liberty and justice for all.



Works Cited:
The Trump Agenda: Here’s What to Expect from His Second Term - Politico, www.politico.com/news/2024/11/06/donald-trump-second-term-policies-00187157. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.
Barrow, Bill. “Donald Trump Has Sweeping Plans for a Second Administration. Here’s What He’s Proposed.” AP News, AP News, 8 Nov. 2024, apnews.com/article/donald-trump-wins-second-term-policies-de3dcf0f173b42602b258042fd7aaafb.
“Presidential Debate Aftermath for Harris and Trump, Experts Discuss.” Virginia Tech News | Virginia Tech, 11 Sept. 2024, news.vt.edu/articles/2024/09/debate-aftermath-harris-trump-presidential-experts.html.
“Grover Cleveland.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 13 Nov. 2024, www.britannica.com/biography/Grover-Cleveland.
Nadeem, Reem. “3. Americans’ Feelings about the State of the Nation, Reactions to the 2024 Election.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 22 Nov. 2024, www.pewresearch.org/politics/2024/11/22/americans-feelings-about-the-state-of-the-nation-reactions-to-the-2024-election/.
“The 2024 Trump Campaign Policy Proposals: Budgetary, Economic and Distributional Effects.” Penn Wharton Budget Model, Penn Wharton Budget Model, 26 Aug. 2024, budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/issues/2024/8/26/trump-campaign-policy-proposals-2024
“2024 Election.” NPR, NPR, www.npr.org/sections/elections/. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.
“2024 Elections: News, Polls and Analysis.” The New York Times, The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/news-event/2024-election. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.
Comments