National Exit Polls showed that Trump won white women by 53%. On the other hand, Harris won black women by an overwhelming 93%. So my question is: white women, what happened?

Like many, I felt hopeful leading up to the election. I’ve heard it said that there are many “quiet Trump supporters,” but I guess I just couldn’t imagine that we as a country would go backward.

I’m 22 and white, and this was my second time voting. I remember the 2016 election. Though I couldn’t vote, I remember the pain and fear felt by so many. I was too young to understand the gravity of the results back then, but I knew it was important. Then I watched. I watched how the former president ran this country. As I grew up under Trump’s presidency I learned about economics and policies. During Trump’s presidency, I got my first job, got my permit and driver’s license, graduated high school, started college, and turned 18. I remember it like it was yesterday. 

What I also remember like it was yesterday, was when Biden and Harris won the 2020 election. I saw joy, relief, and hope like I had never seen before. The complete opposite of the 2016 election. Then, January 6th happened. This, to me, was the darkest day in our democracy since I’ve been alive. Millions of us watched as our Nation’s Capitol was attacked. And yet we still re-elected him.

So what happened? This was not black women. It was not black men. It was white women, and it was the people who voted for Biden in 2020 who decided to not vote at all in 2024. 

According to The New York Times, millions who voted for Biden in 2020 did not vote at all in 2024. My question here is, where were you? That’s problem number one. 

Problem number two, and the problem that I think is most harrowing, is that white women largely preferred Trump. Whether they voted for him based on empty promises about the economy (a whole separate issue), or just didn’t educate themselves on abortion rights, white women in this country voted a convicted felon who was found liable for sexual abuse into the Oval Office over a qualified woman of color. 

Now that it’s been a week since the results, we must pick ourselves up, and get to work. White women especially: we must do better. We must educate ourselves about policy. We must educate ourselves about the economy. We must have difficult conversations with our friends and colleagues about race and gender discrimination in this country. We must inform others of the importance of casting an educated vote because this goes beyond just a difference of political opinion. Most importantly, we must stand and fight together. This is not the time to further divide ourselves. There will be a convicted felon running this country. If you are feeling upset or angry, I implore you to ponder these questions that have plagued me since the results came in: how could we let this happen again, and how can we make sure it never happens again?

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