You may have seen some of these clips on social media—if your algorithm is tuned that way. They are video messages from people, often in red states or counties, complaining about something the current administration is doing that they don’t agree with. “I didn’t vote for this,” they cry.
It may be a town mourning the sudden deportation of a valued resident, the looming foreclosure of a family farm, the invasion of schools by masked ICE agents, the shuttering of a small business, or the absence of FEMA support for devastated areas. Some Americans find themselves surprised, shocked, and sometimes frightened at what is happening to them.
“I Didn’t Vote for This!”
Well, yes, if you voted for the current president, you did vote for this. He said up front what he was going to do when he was elected. Sometimes he bragged he would do it on Day One. (He didn’t.) But you knew all this when you pulled the lever or checked the box.
How do I know? Well, think back to Election Day. When you looked at the ballot, did you see a list of items with check boxes next to them? Did the ballot allow you to select which things you liked and which you didn’t? Did you get the chance to vote YES for deporting illegal immigrants and NO for firing National Park rangers?
Did you think that someone would make note of which policies you liked and which you didn’t, then inform the president so he could act accordingly? Could you possibly have expected that he cared about what you think?
More Buyer’s Remorse
This is buyer’s remorse, pure and simple.
You believed what you wanted to about what he would do once in office. You chose to disregard all the promised actions that you didn’t like. The policies you liked were okay but only if they didn’t happen to you or your family. Those policies were, indeed, just fine as long as they affected only people you didn’t like or didn’t know.
And you lived in this comfortable little bubble where everything went fine. Until it didn’t.
Feeling the Effects of Your Vote
No, ICE isn’t just coming for criminals and lawbreakers. Immigrants without documentation are in America illegally. That makes them criminals and, therefore, legitimate targets tor ICE’s masked and unidentified agents. When you wonder where the cook or the waitress in your favorite diner has gone to or are trying to find a safe place for abuela to hide, you exclaim, “I didn’t vote for this.” But you did.
No, you are not safe because you need those undocumented workers to run your business or keep your family farm going. That doesn’t matter. The workers, terrified of being rounded up and sent to a brutal prison in another country, don’t show up to do their jobs. You find yourself milking cows at 4:00 a.m. and muttering, “I didn’t vote for this.” But you did.
No, FEMA is not coming to help rebuild your town, your neighborhood, or your house demolished by tornado, flood or wildfire. When you look around and realize you are on your own because DOGE cut FEMA’s funding (except to cover the president’s golf outings) you scream, “I didn’t vote for this!” But you did.
We Tried to Tell You
The many ways in which Americans who voted for Donald Trump are now experiencing buyer’s remorse are growing and expanding. In only four months the situation has worsened, and hurricane season just started.
So please spare me your surprise and your outrage.
Some of us tried to tell you what would happen. We explained how tariffs work and how they would raise prices for all of us. And we showed how that would affect small businesses the most.
We said that DOGE couldn’t possibly reduce expenses by that much without cutting real, important programs. You didn’t listen.
You Didn’t Believe Us
Somehow you thought all this wouldn’t affect you because you voted for him. He promised he would take care of you in return for your vote and now you learn he only cares about himself.
You think you deserve healthcare—as we all do, but he wants to take it away. History taught you that the government would help you when it was needed and you expected that wouldn’t change.
You thought this administration would be much like the last one despite all evidence to the contrary and now you’re astonished that it’s not.
Well, boo-hoo. You voted for this; you really did, even if it was against your own best interests. Some of you still believe that he will come though for you. But he won’t.
Take Responsibility for Your Vote
Stop crying “I didn’t vote for this,” and take responsibility for doing it. I certainly didn’t vote for him and I’m horrified. I want to shout, “How could you do this to us ?”
But, really, we’re all in this together now, regardless of who we voted for. The question is, How do we get ourselves out?
