How to not be utterly depressed and scared about Trump winning

[ChocolateMagnum]

Is there any way at all to reframe the likely outcome of the US election? I just feel terrible this morning. Scared and angry. It's wasted energy, though. I can't do anything positive with these feelings and I'm guessing I'm not the only person feeling like this. How are other people finding ways to move out of this feeling so they aren't wasting time and energy on something they have no influence over currently?

True "fuckwits" in pp is aggressive and patronising. Americans get to vote, they don't need the go ahead or insults

I'm a massive follower of politics both in the UK and USA.......I loved Kamala Harris' campaign and thought she would clinch it. I've avoided news for a bit, but I love watching Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers and Jimmy Kimmel late night shows because they take the mick out of Trump. Also check out Pod Save America on YouTube. (If you're not already)
It's going to be a frightening 4 and a bit years. I believe Trump will do everything he said he would and fill his pockets......chances are he dies in office......his health is poor or someone succeeds in an attempt on his life.
I'm praying JD Vance is a plant to save America!!
My bet is Ukraine falls within a year and Europe has to wage a battle against Putin without the USA. He'll bring in a national abortion ban, he'll try to take the state pension, benefits and health insurance. Perceived enemies will be investigated and audited.
His tarrifs will be a disaster and the economy which is currently the envy of the world will suffer. Trump's second term will have an impact on the globe and who knows if he'll leave if he doesn't die.
It really does baffle me that people don't do real research before they vote!!
The people who believe in him will suffer and the people who hate him will suffer.
Plus all his criminal trials go away once he becomes President.
Like Brexit, let's see if Americans who voted for him like what they get.......I doubt it.

Trump was president before and the world didn't end. He didn't go to war either, unlike Obama for example and he didn't preside over the loss of abortion rights; that was Biden who was too busy pandering to enbies to protect women's healthcare. He'll be gone in 4 short years and the next clown will be elected.

But then these posts aren't really about Trump are they? Psychologically they're quite fascinating. Trump, useless as he may be, is a known quantity so the angst and purported dread would be irrational if genuine but really they're just self-described liberals performing the latest group shibboleth. It'snot enough to be worried about Trump, everyone must be seen to be worried. Post how hyperbolically terrified you are, upload videos of yourself screaming and sobbing without tears or throwing yourself around your bedroom or car in rage so you can bask in the glow of being more publicly 'rightthink' than the other members of your social circle. They're in-group dominance displays to rise up the hierarchy.

😀😀😀 Very well put. ‘Please explain how it’s even possible they voted for this terrible man!’
’Did they even know what they were doing?’
’I’m scared…..’ blah, blah, blah.
By far the best one yet was the ‘I’m going to cancel my holiday to America (ooh look at me and what they have forced me to do)’.

Trump conducted Strikes the same as Obama did. Obama didn't start any wars. Bush did. Biden did everything he could to protect women's reproductive rights but was thwarted by Trumps GOP Congress and the supreme court.

If the Democrats can win the house then there will be a little pushback. The Supreme Court is heavily stacked in Trump's favour and will side with him most of the time, however unreasonably. Without he dems winning Congress there aren't many guardrails at all I'm afraid. The American people are at the mercy of Trump's whims.

Tim Walz is brilliant! What a nice bloke......he'd be a better president than Trump. Tampon Tim is a name to be proud of!

Will Trump end the war in Ukraine? I’d imagine Trump winning again will unsettle Putin.
I wonder if Russia will now want a deal to end the war.

Trump might be good in some ways.

If you are interested in psychology you might want to look up bounded rationality. No matter how clever and well informed you are you don't know everything. The people that are apparently catastrophising about Trump maybe know more than you. And you know more than them. Only time will tell whose judgement was right re this particular issue. But making psychological diagnoses about other people purely based on their political opinions being different to yours, is as bad as me saying all the people who voted for Trump must secretly be racists/Nazis. Its hypocritical to criticise the left for thinking they are superior to Trump voters while also having that attitude. Also, while there isn't a rule about who can post where, going on a thread where someone has posted that they are looking for reasons not to be worried just to sneer at them isn't a nice thing to do. Its also weird that so many Trump supporters have apparently reacted to his victory not by celebrating, or happily discussing all the positive changes he might bring, but by coming onto the internet to laugh about Democrat supporters. Psychologically analyse that if you want!

Putin has Trump right where he wants him. Trump has already said Russia can have Ukraine. Unless he was lying, I can't see Ukraine giving up territory. They'll fight to the death. Sad to see North Korean troops over there too now.

Agree about the fighting to the death. They might end up giving territory at some point - it would be worth it for a real peace deal but giving up what Putin would probably demand now or Trump consider reasonable no. One possible positive (and I don't know how feasible this actually is mind) is that if America just cuts all supplies of military weapons anyway then presumably Ukraine could use what they have left however they want - eg to attack over the Russian border. The US wasn't allowing that which meant that even though Ukraine could hold the Russians back, Russia can keep sending a never ending line of rockets and men over the long border they share and just grind forwards that way at massive loss of life. So in the short term Ukraine would have more freedom.

I met with a group of friends this morning. One of them asked “how can Americans be so stupid”? My reply was that I asked the same question about Brits after the Brexit vote. Both country are very changed since the campaigns for Brexit here and Trump as President the first time around. I don’t recognise the UK anymore. I have travelled in America many times. I love the National Parks etc there, but I haven’t been back since he was elected the first time. It’s bad enough negotiating the selfish stupidity here. I’m not willing to spend a lot of money to travel to another version of it. I feel for the 46% of American voters who didn’t vote for him, especially the women. People in the West are more educated than they have ever been. Yet they are destroying the planet and the freedoms long fought for 😢

Honestly? Their political opinions aren't different from mine. I can't stand Trump. In fact, I don't think he should have been allowed to stand - I'd like all countries to have a rule that once a politician has stood in an election and lost they can't ever stand again which in the UK would get rid of MPs from all parties eg Sarah Olney and of course 8 time loser (is it?) Nigel Farage. So please don't make assumptions about anyone's political leanings. But as it stands Trump won under the rules of a fair, democratic election and will be out in 4 years.

And I'm not criticising anyone's feelings, I'm criticising the ridiculous - even racist and threatening- posts and videos that serve no other purpose than performing how tearlessly sad they are that the politician they didn't vote for was elected because that's how they signal they are from a particular social group.

People keep on repeating this. It's delusional. Trump will be more than happy to appease Putin.

Of course it’s something to do with her and with everyone else. Trump’s mad policies concerning climate change affect everyone. Also there is such a thing as a women’s movement. Women caring about the welfare of other women irrespective of borders. Important women’s rights are to be lost under Trump. You are obviously not intelligent enough to recognise that you too will be damaged by the changes he will bring - unless you are a right wing millionaire of course. I won’t respond to you again because, as Mark Twain said "Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience,"

the dramatic wailing and gnashing of teeth over Trump winning are quite something to behold. He was already president for 4 years and it was fine. Exactly what are people so scared of? Be specific.

No one here uploaded any videos of themselves crying for example. So the use of the word "you" sort of implied you did see the posters here as belonging to the same group that included crying tiktokers and excluded you. In reality there are 3 main positions:

1. Trump being elected is great
2. Trump being elected is awful
3. Trump being elected won't mean much at all. He didn't do much last time

I assumed you were in group 1, which was wrong of me. You are in group 3. But people in group 2 have their reasons for thinking the way they do as much as you do. And they are not a homogenous group, and it is provocative to come on and post long screeds confidently explaining why you think people think the way you think they think.

sorry? Be specific about why Vance is 'scary'.

The Supreme Court overturned Roe, not Trump. Obama didn't codify it in his 8 years. Why? Trump is leaving abortion up to each state. I cannot believe the absolute nonsense over this election.

Dear AnnieSnap,
If Climate Change theory can explain the melting of the ice age covering the UK 20,000 years ago, I’d live to hear it. As it is, no human mass carbon producing activities were in effect at that time.

If you are referring to Roe vs Wade, that was a Supreme Court Judgement, not an Executive Order.

I am neither Right Wing (whatever that means) nor a millionaire.

And I’m far from stupid, I hold a MBA, but thank you for displaying your derogatory attitude.

As for engaging in a discourse of different opinions, that’s what democracy is. Unless of course, you believe everyone should hold the same opinion as you, in which case, we live in an autocracy.

He has already said he intends to change it to ‘presidents can’t run for 2 consecutive terms rather than just 2’

I knew he’d get in again…. Hoped he wouldn’t… but knew Americans wouldn’t vote a woman in!
The man is awful and the very fact the majority voted for this awful man reminds me why I’d never visit America! its confirmed most Americans are nuts!

Dear Buttercup, of course what the US does affects us. Their foreign policy and budget successes and challenges impact us and the rest of the world enormously. And if Trump goes ahead with what he’s mentioned frequently - tariffs. Plus NATO.
So your snarky comment was just ill informed.

Cambridge analytica has a lot to blame here! Like they are to blame for leaving EU! They primed the trump followers and trump uses cult tactics to keep his followers/cult members, ! I'm worried most about Russia. 'Active measures 'on amazon prime or free on YouTube will explain how close he is to putin and how f*ked the rest of the world is !

Also wanted to add being a cult memeber isn't about intelligence it sucks in anyone, so it's not about being thick , its about vulnerability and control of information , being told to only listen to trump, not read all media , only stick to right wing media! and social media and confirmation bias has amplified this! Perfect storm , is what has contributed to how messed up it all is