Rutgers Experts Discuss Trump’s Election Victory With President Jonathan Holloway

"The Morning After'' program was produced as part of a class taught by Rutgers' president

After a contentious election that divided the country, in the end, the institutions that uphold democracy prevailed, a panel of political and legal experts said during a discussion Wednesday with Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway.

"We've got to acknowledge that the American people have spoken pretty loudly, and we have to respect that decision," said Ronald Chen, a Distinguished Professor of Law at Rutgers who serves as the general counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union. "To that extent, our democratic institutions are working and thriving."

"The Morning After" analysis is a tradition at the Eagleton Institute of Politics to bring campaign experts and scholars together following Election Day. Holloway moderated the panel discussion Wednesday morning as part of his weekly Byrne seminar for first-year students, "Citizenship, Institutions and the Public."

"As much as we are compelled to point fingers, this was a peaceful election," Holloway said during the hour-long discussion. "There is something quite remarkable, speaking as a historian, that we still have peaceful elections in this country."

Joining Holloway were Chen; Mike Duhaime, former political director of the Republican National Committee and CEO of MAD Global Strategy Group; Kimberly Peeler-Allen, cofounder of Higher Heights, a national organization building the political power and leadership of Black women from the voting booth to elected office and Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for Women and Politics at Rutgers.

"The institution held," said Duhaime, who has worked at the highest levels of U.S. politics in senior roles for President George W. Bush, Sen. John McCain and Gov. Chris Christie. "As messy as it was in 2020, ultimately it held. We have to respect and honor the process. This is what makes Americans unique, we settle our differences at the ballot box."

Peeler-Allen said the election workers, who showed up despite facing unprecedented threats in recent years, were a big part of that equation.

"We saw in Georgia that there were two bomb threats that were called in from Russia and they were thwarted," she said. "They paused voting for a moment, but it continued and that's because of the resilience of the system and the people who are committed to preserving the infrastructure of our democracy."

Walsh pointed to the strides made by women in Tuesday's election. New Jersey has doubled the number of women in its congressional delegation to four, she said. Additionally, Nellie Pou, who will fill the late Bill Pascrell's vacant seat in the Ninth Congressional District, will become the first Latina to serve in the delegation. Walsh also noted the election of Delaware Democrat Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender member of Congress, and a record number of women serving as governors with the election of Republican Kelly Ayotte in New Hampshire.

Other panel members noted that Andy Kim will become the first U.S. senator of Korean descent. Additionally, two Black women will serve in the U.S. Senate simultaneously for the first time: Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland and Lisa Blunt Rochester from Delaware.

Peeler-Allen went on to say that though the election was transparent and secure, more needs to be done to increase the number of people who vote and the number of people who run for office - noting there were thousands of uncontested seats across the country.

Adding more diverse voices is challenging because of the particular hurdles that women, especially women of color, face on the campaign trail and in office, she said.

"This election highlights that racism, sexism and misogyny is very much alive and well and it's not just coming from white men; it's coming from every demographic and whether we want to have those difficult conversations or not, it is something that needs to be addressed," Peeler-Allen said.

Both Walsh and Peeler-Allen said getting a woman of color at the top of the ticket is a huge milestone, and they took turns addressing how gender and race are still weaponized against women candidates, especially women candidates of color.

"Trump clearly used toxic masculinity to appeal to male voters," Walsh said. "The threats of violence they face when they run for office and stay in office [have] a chilling effect. That's why I go back to the rhetoric from Trump and that wing of the party that threatens to keep people out."

Walsh also spoke to the activism that developed in response to Trump's first term and said the work must continue.

"Democracy is a verb not a noun. It needs to be continuously worked on," Walsh said. "Roll up your sleeves. Figure out how to acknowledge the work done well. Raise your voice when you don't agree. And continue to be part of the process."

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