University president, faculty react to Trump victory
The Notre Dame Democracy Initiative and the Rooney Center for the Study of American Democracy partnered to host a panel titled “Election 2024: What Just Happened?” on November 15 in the Hesburgh Center Auditorium. The event was a part of the larger “What Do We Owe Each Other?” forum series. After the panel, the Rover also spoke with several professors on their reactions to the election and expectations for the future under a Trump presidency.
University president Father Robert Dowd, C.S.C. gave introductory remarks before the panel began. Fr. Dowd expressed his desire for increased respect and community in American politics, saying, “We know that no democracy will survive without norms of mutual respect. … We know that in any democracy, basic freedoms and rights are incredibly important. But there also needs to be a sense of community. There needs to be something that brings us all together.”
The panel included three Notre Dame faculty members: Derek Muller, Professor of Law, Laura Gamboa, Assistant Professor of Democracy and Global Affairs in the Keough School of Global Affairs, and Geoffrey Layman, Chair of the Department of Political Science. The panel was moderated by David Campbell, Director of the Democracy Initiative.
Layman credited Donald Trump’s success to the American public’s dissatisfaction with the economy and incumbent policies. Layman voiced concern over the fact that, although the economy is doing well based on various indicators, “… what people think about the economy is that it’s going really poorly, so people’s perceptions are not squaring with the indicators. And that’s a bit of a mystery.” He concluded, “Most Americans will prioritize their interests, their economic interests, their ideologies, over democracy.”
Gamboa, an expert in Latin American politics, argued that a Trump presidency will be more “isolationist” than under Biden. She predicted a decrease in support from the United States for Latin American countries with budding democracies, saying, “It’s not like Donald Trump is going to actively hurt democracy, but I think we cannot count [on] the United States anymore.”
Beyond the panel, faculty reactions to Donald Trump’s victory varied greatly. Daniel Philpott, professor of political science, told the Rover that he was “particularly interested in the fate of unborn children, which the U.S. bishops call the pre-eminent issue.”
In reference to the successes and failures of abortion-related ballot measures around the country, Philpott said, “The results of the election were mixed. Advocates for the rights of the unborn must not lose heart, though, and continue to state the case for life without reservation while pragmatically pursuing victories where they may be won.”
Another political science faculty member was disappointed by the election result, saying, “I’m terrified. The reason that I’m terrified is that we have in Donald Trump somebody who has shown enormous capacity for both indifference and cruelty.”
He continued, “[Trump] shows no sign of recognizing that there’s human dignity and it should be respected. … He has called anybody that criticizes him vermin, including the many people who worked with him in the White House and were his supporters. He is a racist.”
An economics professor told the Rover, “I feel like everything is the exact same as before. The same set of divisions exist, the same set of ailments … that exist in the U.S. are there, they haven’t changed.” He continued, “I don’t get a sense that there’s a change in perception or how people treat each other. I am a bit concerned about the division that exists in American society.”
He continued, “I do worry personally about my compatriots who are here without legal documents to back their stay. … It’s uncertain what will happen to them if some of the policies that have been floated around succeed. I believe that if these policies pass they may create a humanitarian crisis of some sort.”
One professor in the Keough School of Global Affairs contrasted the atmosphere of Trump’s victory in 2024 with that of 2016, saying, “Definitely, this time around it’s different. This time it was much more expected, going into it. … So I don’t think it was that surprising and I think the overall atmosphere reflects that.”
Similarly, Tyler Castle, Associate Director of Notre Dame’s Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government told the Rover, “I was in D.C. in 2016, where it was like a bomb had been dropped when Trump was elected. So in comparison to that, I feel like people are [saying], ‘We’ve been through this before.’ I’m mostly comparing it to my experience in 2016, which was several weeks and months of just absolute shock. I feel like this was a couple days of shock for people who are not Trump fans.”
The “What Do We Owe Each Other?” forum will continue with forums titled “State of Democracy Around the World” and “On the Ground in Israel-Palestine,” both on December 4. Following these events, the last event of the semester will be “2024 Election Postmortem Panel Discussions” on December 7.
Will Carlson is a sophomore in the Program of Liberal Studies with minors in theology and constitutional studies. He’s trying desperately to understand why Phoebe Bridgers hasn’t released an album since 2020—if you have clues he can be reached at wcarlso2@nd.edu.
Photo Credit: @NDRooneyCenter on X
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