University staff and students say the impact of the US Election will be ‘monumental’.
An open meeting was held on Monday, November 11th, at the University of Lincoln for staff and students to discuss the result of the US Election and what it means for the rest of the world.
Republican Donald Trump was elected as the 45th President of the United States in 2017 and will be elected 47th president on January 20th, 2025. Trump won 50% of the votes with 312 electoral votes, while Democrat Kamala Harris lost 48% and 226 electoral votes.
Academics at the University of Lincoln discussed the outcome of the election and what it meant and will continue to mean for American politics.
Lecturer in History at Bishop Grosseteste University, Tim Galsworthy, said: “I think the consequences of this will be monumental. “I think this will be the long unravelling of the republican party in the end.
“Look out for the infighting within the republican party despite the Trump takeover. “This is an election for Donald Trump and for Donald Trump only.”
Despite the controversy around issues such as abortion and healthcare, the talk outlined how American voters were overwhelmingly concerned about the economy.
Senior Lecturer in International Politics at the University of Lincoln, Dr Mike Slaven, said: “There are a lot more concerning issues than what the Democrats chose to focus on.
“Immigration ended up being a second issue with the economy coming first. “People are not happy about it. Food and housing have become a lot more expensive in the last four years.”
Associate Professor in American History at The University of Lincoln, Finn Pollard, said social media had made the election more divided.
He stated: “If you’re in that social media world and your sources of news are the Musk source of news. “There really is this bubble, and so I think it was difficult for the Democrats to break through that.”
Despite many students voicing concern about Trump’s win, students had a range of perspectives on the US Election.
First-year History and English student Freya Newman, 18, said: “Donald Trump winning is the worst thing. He is not very nice, and he is also very damaging to minority groups.”
A final-year Biomedical Science student who did not want to be named said: “I have more republican values, but I don’t like Donald Trump. “I think he will bring in a lot of loyalists to enable him to bring in more radical ideas.”
Another Biomedical Science student said: “There wasn’t much choice on both sides. There was not much to pick from. They were both as bad as each other.”
English and History Student Maddison Brown, 18, said: “He is the definition of everything that is wrong with the world.”
Donald Trump will succeed Joe Biden as the 47th President of the United States and will officially take office on January 20th 2025.