With the final results of the 2016 presidential election in, Donald Trump has been declared president of the United States. The Associated Press officially called the election at 11:32 p.m. with 276 electoral votes in Trump’s favor.
A closely contested battle
Throughout election day, the battle between Trump and Hillary Clinton remained close in both the popular and electoral votes. Several swing states, including Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Michigan came in with less than two percent difference between popular votes for Trump and Clinton.
As one of the main swing states, Florida officially became a Trump-supporting state after a tight outcome call, with only a 1.4 percent difference between the popular votes for Trump and Clinton. The close call caused people to remember the 2,000 vote recount between George W. Bush and Al Gore. However, this election, the state did not use hanging-chad ballots, which eliminates the possibility for a vote to be counted incorrectly.
Some students remain pleased, while others feel fear and doubt about the nation's future. However, students such as sophomore political science major Derek Uejo feel that no matter what the outcome, as Christians there remains a responsibility to pray for the nation’s leader, trusting in the sovereignty of God.
“I think it’s the responsibility of Christians to pray for whoever is in charge of the country, and I think we need to acknowledge that regardless of who wins this election our duty and our responsibility is to put God first,” Uejo said.
Approximately 300 students met to watch live coverage of the election at the Fireplace Pavilion starting at 3 p.m. on Tuesday. Early on at the election viewing party, students shared their thoughts about how they would feel if either candidate won.
Despite surprise win, concerns remain
“I think if Trump were to win my, not necessarily feelings, but concerns would be on the economic status of our country. Certainly also, I think, our relationships with other countries, I think that would be a concern of mine,” Uejo said.
Victoria Leigh-Ward, senior public relations major and political science minor, also shared her concerns regarding Trump’s relationships, especially concerning his care for those in the U.S.
“I see a lot of the words that come out of [Trump’s] mouth and the actions that he partakes and participates in are very concerning because it shows a self-centered… egoistic man who doesn’t care about God or the community or people around him or that God would care for — the weak, the needy, the hurting, the homeless and minorities,” Leigh-Ward said.
Despite some student’s concerns, the crowd surrounding the fireplace erupted in cheers and applauded after Trump’s victory in Florida. Winning after a recount in the swing state marked a pivotal moment in the election outcome.
“Trump is overperforming so it's been entertaining to watch, and that's why it’s been such a fun environment out here,” said Jason Muehlhoff, senior political science major.
Students also gathered inside the production center as a part of a Public Affairs Reporting course to report live on election results. As a student in the class, junior broadcast journalism major Drew Knight also shared his uncertainties on Trump’s minority relationships.
Keeping hope in Christ
“If Trump wins I’ll feel a little bit scared, not for myself, but for minorities in this country. I know the president doesn’t have ultimate power over everything, but he has said some things that are definitely scary, so that would worry me somewhat but I think…. everything’s going to be OK either way,” Knight said.
Daniel Julien, president of Biola’s chapter of the American Enterprise Institute Executive Council, shut down the event at the Fireplace Pavilion at 11 p.m. due to the fact that the election was extremely close to being called in Trump’s favor. This was supported by news sources such as New York Times and the Washington Post. Students remained at the event until the screen was shut off and they were told to leave.
Although many students feel apprehensive about the coming years, Uejo states the importance of Christians remembering their hope in Christ rather than the president.
“I think that when we go along with the culture in fear and in insecurity, we’re not really portraying the message of Christ in full fashion, which is, regardless of the circumstances there is hope, there is peace, there is a way towards a future. That, I think, honestly is the only way to have hope and peace in this weird time,” Uejo said.
