For millions of parents across our country, the ascension of Donald Trump into the highest office in our country poses more than just a profound political and social problem. For many it is proof of their darkest fears for their children. People of color, recent immigrants, LGBT and women have to wonder if their child can be safe in our country—if our country is far too entrenched in its uneducated bigotry and sexism to be a civil home. There are myriad reasons Hillary Clinton lost and Donald Trump won. There is no one reason alone. Van Jones explained a large and emotional and important consequence of this election, while on CNN last night.
People have talked about a miracle. I'm hearing about a nightmare. It's hard to be a parent tonight for a lot of us. You tell your kids. Don't be a bully. You tell your kids don't be a bigot. You tell your kids do your homework and be prepared. Then you have this outcome and you have people putting children to bed tonight. They're afraid of breakfast. They're afraid of how do I explain this to my children.
I have Muslim friends who are texting me tonight saying should I leave the country. I have families of immigrants that are terrified tonight. This was many things. This was a rebellion against the elites, true. It was a complete reinvention of politics and polls. It's true. But it was also something else. We have talked about everything but race tonight. We have talked about income, class, region. We haven't talked about race. This was a white lash. This was a white lash against a changing country. It was a white lash against a black president in part, and that's the part where the pain comes. And Donald Trump has a responsibility tonight to come out and reassure people that he is going to be the president of all the people who he insulted and offended and brushed aside. Yeah, when you say you want to take your country back, you've got a lot of people who feel that we're not represented well either. But we don't want to feel that someone has been elected by throwing away some of us to appeal more deeply to others. This is a deeply painful moment tonight, and I know it is not just about race, but race is here too and we have to talk about it.
You can watch below.