The presidential election certainly ignited passions on both sides of the political aisle this fall, and San Benito County residents had plenty to say about what some termed a surprise win by President-Elect Donald Trump. Of the first 100 respondents to the BenitoLink poll question, “How surprised are you about the results of the presidential election?” 67 percent chose “Very surprised. I didn’t see that coming,” while 33 percent chose “Not surprised at all. I didn’t believe the polls.”
We posed the question on Facebook as well, generating dozens of responses ranging from joy to fear. Here is a sample of some of those reactions:
(Andrew Williams) So Happy. Great sunny day.
(Pam Matriciano)Â My dad always taught me if you can’t say anything nice then keep quiet!!!!
(Sylvia Sanchez Rocha)Â Time to bring this nation back together. Decisiveness doesn’t help anyone no matter what side you’re on!
(Valerie Egland)Â Something will come out of all this confusion, just don’t know what!
(Leila Sadeghian)Â Personally, I wasn’t upset about Donald Trump winning. I was more upset how they portrayed Hillary Clinton as a liar and a crook and made her seem dishonest. She’s not a criminal. I had nothing against Trump, I was just upset about how they attacked Hillary Clinton. I honestly trust her.
(David Marquez) Maybe the cockroaches will start running out of the dark corners and we can clean this mess a little bit better.
(Kelly Foster Dreiling)Â Good feeling.
(Sherin Higgins Cuneo) Feeling optimistic! Contrary to the haters screaming “The Sky is Falling”…it really isn’t. Fresh start. Appreciation of Law Enforcement and Border Control to do the jobs that they were hired to do. :)There will still be work visas.
(Merri Vieira)Â I am scared and hopeful. I am hopeful in a way and praying for our Country.
(Roberta Sopko Daniel) I am hopeful because we finally have a unified government. All branches, executive, legislative, and judicial are finally of the same party and can work together to end the massive gridlock. Hopefully they will accomplish wonderful things.
(Dawn Valdez) There were a lot of Republicans against him. Hope they will stand up to him now.
(Heather Sorrels Caputo) The Electoral College was created by our founders to make sure the will of the people was heard and so that no one could manipulate the election. It worked in 2000 and it worked last night.Â
(Tanya Anderson) Beautiful days ahead.
(Kathie Bailey) Do we really need more political comments?!
(Crystal Bailey Lemos)Â Hoping for the best, preparing for the worst.
(Ricardo Rodriguez) Was I surprised? No. People are missing the issue here. Media manipulation of the process. People are fed up with the Washington elites dictating to us how we should live and that they know better for us. We are not children. The media manipulated the narrative to help one party over the others. No one sees a problem there? I seriously think these media moguls (including social media)’ think they can manipulate us to do their bidding. Well last night showed that they failed. We will not be herded like cattle. I personally no longer rely on the network for news. They all have their agendas and I am tired of being told what and how to think. Think of the ramifications if the media for away with it… Again. The media demagogues need to fall. We need to take back our power. Now the narrative is America is racist and sexist. AMERICA ELECTED A BLACK MAN 8 years ago. What the *#*! happened to all those voters now. Give me a *#*! break. I voted for Obama the first time. I bought into the hype. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. I didn’t vote the second time for him. I got tired of 3 years blaming the other guy. It’s like that coworker that blames everybody but him or herself, eventually that *#*! gets old. I hope Trump shakes the system to its core.Â
(Robert Luevanos)Â I’m happy!!!!!!
(Carol Leonard) If Donald Trump takes people’s anger and turns it against Muslims, Hispanics, African Americans and women, we will be his worst nightmare. The amount of hate that has been festering below the surface of our society proved to be unprecedented and unimaginable.
(Wade Woodall) I’m sure there are racists who voted for Trump. As I am sure there are racists who voted for Hillary. You don’t have to be white to be a racist, on the contrary to popular belief. Trump got voted in because the blue collar worker in the Great Lakes region was tired of false promises from the Democratic Party and they were tired of seeing their jobs shipped abroad to avoid high taxes and benefit costs. They were sickened by a politician who fit the stereotypical, dirty politician mold. Truman said, “you don’t get rich being a politician unless you are crooked”. He’s right and WikiLeaks proved it. So continue to spew hate, it’s your right. But at the end of the day, the quicker you pick yourself up off the ground, the happier and more productive to striving for a better society you will be.
(Robert Bernosky)Â California and New York are political anomalies in the country, especially California. So while some can say that Clinton won the popular vote, it only is because of that anomaly. Regardless, it is clear that the People knew that our country is broken. Labor participation rate reflects 37.2% of the population that could work, is not. They are not included in the false unemployment rate because they have given up looking for jobs. The government healthcare (Obamacare) is not working as premiums and deductibles have risen so high as to make even those with insurance, unable to use it. California will be next. We continue to chase companies out of California, yet the population is increasing. That is why we have 12.5% of the nation’s population but 1/3 of the welfare claims. The bubbles of San Francisco and Los Angeles reflect prosperity, but just go 50 miles inland, and that view changes dramatically. Let’s make California great (again)!
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