American students living in Prague grappled with complex emotions about their nation’s future after Donald Trump was declared the 47th president of the United States.
The election came to a close on Tuesday morning as American and non-American students alike began class, distracted by the growing certainty of former President Trump’s re-election, according to the right-leaning live vote count.
“It was a disaster waking up this morning and seeing that Donald Trump will have a second term as president of the U.S.,” business student Matt Saks said. “ I thought that after the first term, the people of America decided that it was enough. I’m pretty concerned for the future and it makes me question if I want to go back to the states after graduation.”
Of the 4.8 million U.S. citizens living abroad, 2.9 million were registered to vote, with only 7.8% of eligible citizens casting ballots in 2020, according to The Federal Voting Assistance Program.
“I was kinda hopeless from the start with the election results, whether it was Harris or Trump winning,” IR student Sophia Rehiem said, expressing disappointment with both candidates. “I think the worst thing about it is that the legacy of both the democratic and republican parties right now are tainted by this election.”
While many students were shocked, some felt unaffected by the results. 69% of young voters abroad did not vote because the process was too complicated, while 31% did not want to cast a ballot at all.
“I feel like both sides are gonna do some really f–ked up things inevitably, but maybe both sides would fix some stuff too. And it seems like a lot of the international community respects Trump, so maybe it’ll be better in the long run for international relations,” student Sierra Krueger-Wolfe said, “What happened, happened, there’s no way to change it. I’m just grateful it seems like [there will be] a peaceful transfer of power.”
American expats found the U.S. election a buzzing conversation among international communities. With 301 electoral votes, Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential race as Democratic candidate Kamala Harris conceded, and Trump received congratulations from many world leaders.
