Wisconsinites are divided.
WPR asked people for their feelings and reactions the day after President-elect Donald Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in Wisconsin by nearly 30,000 votes.
Abraham Liebherr said he watched the election results pour in Tuesday night. When Pennsylvania was called for Trump, he went to bed happy, because his candidate of choice was on the path to victory.
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Wednesday morning, the Hartland resident was fishing on Pewaukee Lake in Waukesha County.
“The last four years have been just so bad, financially, for everyone, I was like, we need a guy in here who can get some things done,” Liebherr said about his vote for Trump.
Liebherr described himself as a “moderate.” He said he would have voted for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but he decided to cast his support behind Trump after Kennedy Jr. dropped out of the race.
He did, however, consider voting for Harris after she entered the picture. But he said he believes people were better off under Trump.
“I didn’t worry about anything financially when Trump was first in office, I just didn’t,” he said.
Near the Capitol building in Madison, people were quieter than usual.
Lori Dahlhauser of Madison said her co-worker cried in the office this morning.
“I’m very sad, and feeling very bleak,” Dahlhauser said. She said the election’s result makes her feel like women are second class citizens.
“I just don’t understand. I don’t get how people that I know could vote for somebody like Donald Trump,” Dahlhauser said. “He’s a felon, he’s a racist, he’s a terrible person.”
Dahlhauser said she feels embarrassed for America. “To the rest of the world, we’re a joke, is how I feel.”
“I think that a president should have character and morals. And be somebody to be proud of. And he is not somebody that I could possibly be proud of,” Dahlhauser said.
Since hearing the results, she’s tried to avoid the news and Facebook.
“I don’t know how to process this, I don’t know where we’re going to go,” Dahlhauser said.
On the other hand, Jessica Keller said she felt “wonderful” about Trump’s win. She’s a farmer in Mineral Point, and came into Madison to work at a farmer’s market on Nov 6.
“I feel really happy about it because I am a Christian, and I vote for the side that I feel is more Godly-oriented,” Keller said. “And I hope that the side I voted for, which was for Trump, is that side.”
She said she’s seen Trump praying with people and hopes he will “keep God in our country.” Without that, she fears the United States will be worse off.
She said she’s excited for Trump to make the country’s borders safe and hopes he’ll bring down Americans’ grocery bills.
Curt Kroll was walking next to Pewaukee Lake with his wife Tuesday morning.
“Just shocked that it turned out this way, and even thought that it was going to take two weeks or something to get a result,” Kroll said.
The 82-year-old, who just moved back to Wisconsin from New Mexico, said he still couldn’t believe Trump had won. He described himself as an “independent.”
“In this case, Kamala (Harris) was just heads and tails ahead of Trump,” Kroll said.
Evyn Vandeberg of Oakfield feels satisfied with the election’s outcome. He commutes to Madison for work and to take classes at Madison Area Technical College. He thinks Trump will help America’s economy.
“It feels like there’s a lot less room to try to get ahead financially, versus when Trump was in office four years ago,” Vandeberg said. “Or even under the Obama administration.”
He said a Trump presidency is a good turning point for the country.
“The economy right now, I don’t think a lot of Americans are happy with, and they’re looking for a big change,” Vandeberg said.
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