Why Trump’s second term is especially fearful

“By the way, you got a visa to come in and cover this, right?”

Last month, I was in North Carolina, covering the U.S. presidential election swing states. At an early voting location, a white man, who was explaining at length why he was supporting Donald Trump on the issue of illegal immigration, suddenly asked me the question out of nowhere. The question was too rude to be a joke and delivered with an intention. I replied, “Of course.” He said, “Of course, you're on a B visa,” and smirked bashfully. The journalist visa is an I visa, not a B visa. But I didn’t explain further; whether it was a B or I visa didn't matter to him.

During our field reporting, I encountered ‘people with a lot of beef’—or, more precisely, "angry underdog white people"—throughout the swing states. They drew a clear distinction between the United States and non-United States, as well as between Americans and non-Americans. To summarize their anger: ‘I'm the real underdog, and the Democrats only care about the wrong people, never me.’ One white man who came to vote with his visually impaired wife was deeply frustrated. “They're cutting off her disability subsidies, but they're giving our tax dollars to illegal immigrants,” he said. He wore a hat with a brim fraying at the stitches. The man who asked the reporter if he had a visa was no different. His glasses were held together with scotch tape as he complained about the high cost of living.

They hated Democrats who only said just the right things. There were more of these people than I had expected. Even in areas categorized as ‘purple’ and ‘toss-ups’ in our preliminary coverage, 7 or 8 out of 10 people we interviewed supported Trump. And they weren’t ‘shy’ at all. They were apparent, outspoken, and confident. There was even a middle-aged white woman who was so angry she needed two days to explain it. It's ironic that this ‘poor white’s anger’ was resonated and harnessed by the richest of the rich, Trump, rather than the Democrats.

And the election results exactly reflected the feeling I got from the field. A Korean living in New York for over 10 years said he feared the future. “The America I know is divided into the America before Trump and the America after Trump,” he said. “The worst legacy of Trump's first term is that it created a culture where it’s okay to hate and discriminate openly.” Eight years ago, he added, he was shocked that even New York, one of the world's most diverse and progressive cities, could change like that. It’s hard to say what a second term would bring.

President-elect Trump is still two months away from taking office, but the changes are already being felt. “The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating a recent wave of messages sent to LGBTQ people and Hispanics, saying they are 'on a deportation list' or 'targeted for re-education centers,'” according to U.S. media. These messages were sent via cell phone texts and emails, even to minors. Media outlets are offering self-mocking commentary, such as, ‘Who can we blame when the president-elect behaved like this throughout the campaign?’

After Trump's win, many in Korea are worried about our diplomacy, security, and trade. With the Republican sweep of not only the White House but also the Senate and House of Representatives, what if President-elect Trump's America First policies are pushed even harder? What is more worrisome on the ground is the changing perception of ordinary Americans. If the president goes too far, Congress can stop him, and if Congress goes too far, the people can stop them, but if the people change, there is no way to stop them. The ‘politics of anger’ that made Trump president-elect, and the ‘freedom to hate’ he has given American society, is fearful.