What do you want to tell Trump?

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Donald Trump’s unexpected win took many Californians by surprise. Before the president-elect moves into the Oval Office, we wanted to hear from you about what you’d tell Trump, California’s lawmakers, and your neighbors.

Here are some of the comments that we’ve received. Add yours below.

What do you want to tell Donald Trump?

Please stop encouraging hate groups to think it’s okay to harass us physically and verbally. — Vicente Ruiz

Be a leader, speak out against racist nationalist groups, sexists, support the LGBT community, support veterans and do it all with conviction! I did not vote for you, but I still want to give you a chance. — Leonardo Robinson

I did not vote for you, but you won the election and therefore you are my president. This will be the hardest and most challenging job you’ve ever had. Good luck to you, sir. The world is watching. — Roger Gibson

I am a Republican but was unable to support Trump during this election. I hope he understand the gravity of the office he is now serving. This is not a “business deal” because we are dealing with human lives, not profit margins. I wish him luck and that he picks educated, intelligent and thoughtful people to surround himself with. He should continue to push the message that we need to come together and that he will represent everyone in the United States’ best interest. At this point, that is all we can hope for. — Natalie Wieckert

Wow, there is so much I would like to say. But I guess what I would like to say is that I hope you find a perspective. You have to understand that some issues aren’t either black or white. You have to find yourself in that grey area to find answers or reach a compromise. And that’s not an always easy task, but it is worth it. America is worth it. In that grey area stand Latinos, African Americans, Muslims, women, immigrants, LGBTQ, and refugees. More importantly in that grey area you will find American people. And the more you divide and the more you speak words of hatred, the more you will lose loose our go people. At the end of the day we are all Americans. Let’s not forget that. While I am hurt for all the pain you have caused, you have a duty as a leader to move us forward. I have a duty as a young person of this country to be active in my government. We can work, not make America great again, but rather make America feel like home again.-Frank Rojas

What do you want to tell your elected leaders in California?

Stay strong and make conscious choices. We are stronger together and we must remain resilient during these times of great trepidation. — Vicente Ruiz

The country and the world looks to California to set the pace and the standard for progress in all arenas. Let’s keep-up the good work and continue leading the world by our good example. — Roger Gibson

I have no idea what the solution is but you now have a lot of scared Californians on your hands. Many are scared of the bigotry that came from Trump and they’re scared of their fellow Americans who they had thought were above thinking that the deplorable behavior was acceptable. They’re scared of the fellow Americans who now feel empowered to behave in Trump-like fashion against them. If you can find a way to put a stop to the cycle of hate that Trump played to the holt maybe there’s hope for this country going forward. — Darcy Bowen

You have a lot of very young very upset constituents who have no idea how to deal with what they are currently feeling. Talk to them! Listen to them! Reassure them that you stand with them and you’ll fight for them. Assure them that they have no need to fear deportation forces or walls; that they can still marry and that their marriages are protected; that they can be true to their religions without fear of persecution. – Shaun H

Have you talked to your neighbors since the election? What have you told them or wanted to tell them?

We are all in mourning, we are all terrified for our country’s future. We are terrified to see the progress made the last eight years  be reversed. — Robin Coleman

That we are right to be afraid. The election has green lit bigotry and harassment and we are not safe in our cities. It may feel hopeless as we can only affect what happens in our state, but we have to work towards the next election. What work that is I don’t know yet, but we must keep fresh how we feel right now. Protect those you love from the federal government through any means necessary. —Justin Lundy

I have not talked to my neighbors since the election, but I have talked to family members, class mates, and college professors. I feel that the conversation was healthy and necessary. For the most part we were able to discuss our pain and resentment. It was a great way to move forward and not carry that all around. I think that as a young person with all the divisiveness that’s going on, that’s the best thing to do. —Frank Rojas

I haven’t spoken to all of them. I am trying to be supportive to those who are incredibly disappointed and worried. As parents, we are doing our best to try to explain what is happening to our children. I don’t recall this ever being as important as it is now in 2016. That in itself is overwhelmingly depressing. I left for work on Tuesday morning telling my young daughter “today is a very important day.” The next morning I didn’t have the words to explain any of it to her, or to my son who was very upset. —Melissa Hernandez

What do you think?


(Photo: Gage Skidmore)