Some women said they are reeling Wednesday after waking up to news that Donald J. Trump will be the 45th president of the United States.
The election could have been a historic moment for women, but Trump’s decisive win over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has made some voters said they feel defeated.
“I’m devastated and I’m actually very surprised,” said Danielle Garnett, a 22-year-old student at George Mason University. “I thought that Hillary would win by a landslide.”
Election day projections largely predicted women and minorities would propel Clinton to the White House. Trump carried a larger margin of minority votes than 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney.
Clinton won about 88 percent of the African-American vote and 65 percent of votes from Hispanics. The majority — 54 percent — of women also backed the Democratic nominee. But those numbers did not outweigh Trump’s strength among white voters: 70 percent of voters were white and most of them went for Trump.
“I voted for her, but I wasn’t with her,” Garnett said.
“I definitely want a woman as president. I just didn’t want that woman as president,” League said.
For some women, even the possibility of the first female president was not enough to inspire their voting interest. Trump’s support was at 64 percent among non-college educated white women.
President of the Maryland Federation of Republican Women, Liz League, said Clinton was definitely not her choice for that honor.
“I definitely want a woman as president. I just didn’t want that woman as president,” League said.
Even Trump’s recently leaked comments about women did not deter her vote. League said she had heard men say worse.
“Trump just said words and Hillary Clinton had deeds and so, when you weigh those two factors, what Trump said just didn’t bother me. It really didn’t,” she said.
A Clinton presidency was not the goal of women or the people in general, League said.
“The people who supported (Trump) have been very upset since 2008,” said 35-year-old federal worker Knia Tanner. “They’ve been mobilizing since then and I think a lot of the Democratic party has been asleep at the wheel.”
Angeline Smith was crying as she left the Metro at Gallery Place in downtown Washington, D.C., Wednesday. The 25-year-old said she felt women were no longer safe.
“We elected someone who hates us, who has openly bragged about sexual assault and harassment,” Smith said. “I’m scared of the people in our country and I’m scared of what’s going to happen next.”
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