Swiss reaction from within the US
These reactions from our Swiss abroad bloggers reflect the wider public’s range of emotions to the election of Donald Trump as president.
Nick Wenker’s Swiss family moved to Houston when he was seven. He’s been a Republican since he was a teenager, but even he was stunned by the presidential and senate results: “All my liberal friends are outraged and shell-shocked. I think we will have a very divided America that needs to pay more attention to people ignored by politicians and the media.”
Dan Stan, who moved to US over 20 years ago, said although the result is “pretty catastrophic, the show must go on”. “Personally, I think the shift needed to happen. The destruction of middle class, globalization and issues caused by it across the developed world, out of control immigration across Europe, the chaos in Muslim world … so many issues that look like they are getting out of control. The only problem … Trump is a HORRIBLE man to address any of these issues. But Hillary, the embodiment of old establishment, very bad candidate. I voted for neither of the candidates.”
Marlene von Arx, a freelancer journalist working in LA, said: “I feel I know nothing anymore. I don’t think he will turn the country completely upside down though. There are too many cooks in Washington for that to happen. Time to calm down and regroup and in a next step overhaul the entire electoral/campaign system.”
Others remain frightened by the outcome.
René Wolfensberger grew up Switzerland and moved to US in 1990. “I am scared. America has chosen the racist over a woman. Let’s hope it’s going to be not as bad as it looks. People are shocked in tears and disappointed. My friends are all in disbelief.”
Dave Long, a Clinton supporter from Arziona who is naturalised Swiss, tried to put his emotions into words: “Despair doesn’t begin to describe it. Lost is too poetic. Homicidal comes a little closer … at least to the degree of rage. Stunned, numb, angry, shocked, pissed, amazed, weird, stupified, inconsolable are a part of it. Mostly I’m scared. This result is not good for the USA and will set us all back on so many levels.”
“Whatever the result is, the majority has spoken!” noted Hanré Chang, a Swiss whose family moved to the US when he was 15.
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