As you follow along on election night on Nov. 8, Republican nominee Donald Trump has an early lead when it comes to the popular vote, plus a whole bunch of states turned red for him on the electoral map. It's a hard sight to take in after long-fought campaigns by both Trump and Clinton. Many Clinton-supporting folks are getting a rude awakening on Tuesday night, realizing that America could be more racist and sexist than they thought. The current map not only shows the entire center of the country in red, it also proves just how divided the United States is right now when it comes to what it believes in.
Trump's campaign has promoted a rhetoric of racism against many people — including African Americans and Latinx people — and sexism, with a slew of sexist remarks made by him both on the campaign trail and in that Access Hollywood leaked tape. Despite a slogan like "Make America Great Again," Trump has spoken out against — or pledged to eliminate — many aspects of this country that people feel really does make America great, like its diversity and equality among its people.
This isn't sitting well with many people, and Twitter users have been voicing their shock so far.
According to the New York Times, Trump has a lead in several states due to support from men, older voters, white voters and evangelicals, as well as Caucasian voters with college degrees. The fact that he holds a lead in the popular vote, as well as the electoral map, shows that a good amount of the United States voted for Trump and may share similar beliefs and values as Trump — which means this country is way more divided than many people previously thought.
According to a poll by the Washington Post, Trump supporters are likely to skeptical of women who accuse men of sexual harassment, and believe that women who do are causing more issues than they solve. Several women have accused Trump of sexual harassment (though he's denied all accusations), but if that poll is to be believed, his supporters don't care. Also, according to Reuters, Trump voters are more likely to describe African Americans with words like "criminal," "unintelligent," "lazy" and "violent." The New York Times reported that a YouGov poll revealed that one-third of the Republican candidate's supporters believed that Japanese internment camps during World War II were a "good idea." The NY Times also described Trump supporters as "white, working-class voters who are more likely than other Republicans to believe that whites are a supreme race and who long for the Confederacy."
And many people hoped that those were beliefs of America's past. Here's more of what Twitter had to say.
Celebrities Hoped For Better
Rashida Jones says it best here.
Even Christians Are Ashamed
They can't believe it either.
Some People Are Writing Poems
Spelling it out.
Is This Real Life?
Sorry, this is not a dream.
Someone Think Of The Children
What an example for them.
But This Is An Important Reminder, Too
Trump supporters have their own personal reasons for voting for their candidate — and it doesn't mean they necessarily represent everything Trump has stood for in the past.
No matter which candidate wins on Tuesday night, the many votes cast in Trump's favor show that the United States is not quite as united in beliefs as some may have expected — and that the views of many Americans are, dare I say, deplorable.
