Whether or not you were content with the outcome of the 2016 Presidential Election, one can acknowledge the divisive nature of the way that the public reacted to the Nov. 8 results. Despite a reported 51 percent favorability rating for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, according to the PEW Research Center, President-elect Donald Trump came forward to obtain the presidency.
Due to the controversial win, the Green Party’s Jill Stein beckoned to the Clinton campaign to demand a recount, which would invariably help Clinton gain the extra 38 electoral votes necessary to claim the presidency, according to CNN. However, on Nov. 26, these claims were answered when Clinton, as well as Marc Elias, general counsel for Hillary For America, announced a formal voting recount in the states of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Collectively, these states encompass 46 of the United States’ 538 electoral votes and would ensure a victory for Clinton.
“But regardless of the potential to change the outcome in any of the states, we feel it is important, on principle, to ensure our campaign is legally represented in any court proceedings and represented on the ground in order to monitor the recount process itself,” added Elias on Clinton’s personal Facebook page.
Although we respect the fact that Trump won the election in a fair manner, we applaud Clinton for her perseverance in the post-election, considering that between the aforementioned three states, 107,000 votes separated Trump and Clinton, according to Elias. As we watch a nation divided by violence and bigotry, we can only hope that the possibility of a Clinton presidency can mend the wounds of American society and usher in a period of peace within the nation.
As expected, Trump took to Twitter to express his distaste for the recount, even going as far as calling out CNN for their “support” of Clinton. “I thought that @CNN would get better after they failed so badly in their support of Hillary Clinton however, since election, they are worse!” tweeted Trump on Nov. 28.
Despite Trump’s insecurity being understandable, it is extremely irresponsible for an individual that is about to run our country to take to a social media platform to attack not only their opponent, but also news sources. Instead of articulating himself in a respectful manner, Trump did what he thought was best and utilized Twitter as his scapegoat to project from his gospel of hate. As usual, Trump proved himself inept in handling minor situations, which reflects on not only his person, but also his “yuge” ego.
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