Donald Trump supporters greeted his election with happiness and relief. Conversely, across the country, supporters of Hillary Clinton are viewing Trump’s election with fear and anger. Protests have been staged in cities from Oakland, California, Austin, Texas and Chicago, Illinois, as well as in St. Paul, Minnesota. Some Democratic leaders have taken to social media to share their feelings and solidarity with their disappointed supporters.
Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges posted the following on Facebook at 8am Nov. 10:
Was this a call for the protests that occurred last night in St. Paul and for the ones that are planned for this evening? Hodges states “We must continue, as always, to stand against what is coming, to fight for and with people against the meanness that is upon us.” (emphasis added) She goes on to say, “The first order of business, however, is to grieve, to rage…”
A major issue during the campaign and one that is fueling the protests, was Donald Trump’s promise to remove federal funding from all “Sanctuary” cities. (“There’s no official definition of “sanctuary,” but it generally refers to rules restricting state and local governments from alerting federal authorities about people who may be in the country illegally.” – Washington Post) Minneapolis is a sanctuary city. Is Hodges fearing the loss of funding and manipulating the vulnerable to fight?
Hundreds marched in St. Paul on Nov. 10 to “protest the election of Trump.” Chanting “No Trump, No KKK, No Racism in USA,” “Hey Hey Ho Ho Donald Trump has got to go,” and “F— Trump,” while carrying both professionally produced signs stating “Love Hope Rise” and handmade signs with declarations such as “F—Trump” and “MN HAS NO ROOM 4 HATE,” the protesters marched through St. Paul. At one point, protesters blocked the Green Line train tracks. 
The event was shared on the Black Lives Matter St. Paul Facebook page; organized by one of BLM-SP’s organizers, Corydon Nilsson, aka “Lee Min-Kyoo.”
Protests against Trump were staged around the country yesterday and more are scheduled for Nov. 10, including protests planned in Minneapolis at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs in Minneapolis. A group called Socialist Alternative MN shared an invitation to more than 27,000 people to the event with 2,600 indicating that they will attend. Along with The Socialist Alternative MN group, Minnesota Immigrants Rights Action Committee (MIRAc) also has a protest planned at the Humphrey School tonight. As Alpha News reported, MIRAc was one of the groups involved with the violent protests at the Minneapolis Trump Fundraiser in August.
The protest in St. Paul was reported as being peaceful. Other cities were not so fortunate. In Oakland, protesters broke windows and set cars on fire. In Chicago, protesters were filmed attacking a Trump supporter for voting Trump. (Language warning)
The election of Donald Trump has been dubbed as “Whitelash” by former CNN contributor Van Jones. Jones claims that “white uneducated men” voted for Trump because they are feeling marginalized by the past eight years of an Obama and Democrat administration and they’re basically racists.
Election statistics tell another story. The Washington Post reported more than 200 counties that voted for Obama in both 2008 and 2012 flipped to Trump on Nov. 8.
Minnesota had an increase in voter turnout this year than in prior years. Obama carried Minnesota by large margins in both 2008 and 2012; however, this year Clinton’s margin of victory was only 1.4%, and areas that voted for Obama in ‘08 and ‘12 flipped to Trump in ‘16.
Andrea Mayer-Bruestle
Andrea Mayer-Bruestle is a former writer for Alpha News.
