After Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election on Nov. 5, members of Gen Z across the political spectrum have had vastly different reactions.

Leading up to the election, the Gen Z vote was expected to shape the results, according to Teen Vogue. Both campaigns strategically attempted to appeal to Gen Z voters and draw low-propensity young voters to the polls, hoping that the demographic could be
a significant factor in pushing either candidate closer to victory.

For example, the Harris campaign’s TikTok account amassed nearly 6 million followers, and she was endorsed by celebrities and influencers, including Mindy Kaling and Gracie Abrams, among many others. Additionally, Kamala Harris made an appearance on Alex Cooper’s podcast “Call Her Daddy,” Spotify’s second-biggest podcast, composed of primarily young, female listeners. Similarly, Trump appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast, which has 14.5 million followers on Spotify and 17.6 million on YouTube, many of whom are
Gen Z men.

Campaign attempts to target Gen Z speak to the increased significance of this age group’s vote. Even for Gen Zers in high school who aren’t of voting age yet, the next four years will be decisive in shaping the kind of world and society that they will inherit. As a result, many Gen Z high school students had deeply personal feelings surrounding
the 2024 election.

To capture the opinions and emotions of Gen Zers following the election, we interviewed a range of high school students in Los Angeles.

At Marlborough, many students shared feelings of fear, anger and uncertainty when reflecting on the election results. Elsy Carrillo ’25 worried about the impact that Trump’s presidency would have on her family while remaining hopeful about the future of
democracy after Trump’s presidency.

“For me, [this election] is personal,” Carrillo said. “I feel like my family is going to be very affected by Trump’s
plan so I am very scared. But I’m also optimistic because I know that Democrats don’t disappear automatically, so I still have hope and I know that we are still a democracy.”

Libby Doris ’25, a senior at Marlborough, similarly expressed feelings of disappointment with the election results, specifically citing how she had hoped Harris would be the first female president.

“Waking up the morning of Nov. 6 and seeing the results, I was definitely struck with a sense of hopelessness,” Doris said. “It felt amazing throughout Harris’ campaign to have a female role model who was running for president, and seeing that the popular vote went to Trump hit me with the amount of sexism that is still in our country.”

Like Carrillo, Doris finds hope in the idea that Gen Z can continue to make an impact in politics over the next four years.

“I still have hope that we can make an impact,” Doris said. “Our voices can still be heard.”

Another Marlborough senior, who wished to remain anonymous, worried that certain groups’ rights may be taken away under a Trump presidency. She said, however, that she is not surprised with the outcome, given what she says is the existence of a vast political divide.

“I worry for the rights of a lot of different groups of people,” the anonymous senior said. “At the same time, I’m more devastated than I am surprised because I feel like there is a lot of political polarization in the country.”

Differing from the intense emotions that many seniors at Marlborough expressed, an anonymous sophomore said they view the election as an opportunity to research and truly understand Trump’s policies. She said she doesn’t feel personally impacted and instead wants to gain a larger understanding of how the nation and world may change under Trump.

“I’m not too upset over the result of the election, but I’ll be sure to watch and research policies that Trump wants to implement and research them to see how they’ll affect my life during his presidency,” the anonymous sophomore said.

Although in a co-ed environment, some Harvard-Westlake students had a similar viewpoint to students at Marlborough. Some were similarly disappointed with the election results and felt concern for their futures. Two students in particular, Kate Goldberg ’25 and Savannah Mahoney ’25 felt worried about their lives as young women.

“I feel disrespected and discarded as a woman in America,” Goldberg said. “I feel like my country doesn’t care about me and my rights.”

Aside from anxiety about her rights as a woman, Mahoney also feared for the future and felt unsure of how the election will truly impact her life.

“I’m just horrified,” Mahoney said. “Where do we go from here?”

An anonymous Harvard-Westlake senior had a different opinion. They believe that Trump’s presidency will help the economy more than a Harris presidency would have, even though they don’t fully agree with all of Trump’s policies.

“Trump is not ideal but I’m confident he’ll be better for our economy through his ‘America First’ mindset,” the anonymous senior said.

Notre Dame student Zoe Joshua ’25 spoke about what it was like attending a school with students who are divided in political views, with both Harris and Trump supporters in the student body.

“Notre Dame is a private Catholic school, so there are a lot of mixed emotions,” Joshua said.

Joshua said she is also disappointed that Trump is a convicted felon and was elected to office.

“The fact that we are choosing a felon over a woman for office is absolutely insane,” Joshua said.

Luna Coyle ’25, a senior at Marlborough, believes it is important that high schoolers remain politically active and informed even if they can’t yet vote in order to make an impact in their local communities.

“By educating ourselves before we can vote, we are building a platform to influence members of our communities,” Coyle said. “Educated numbers can make a real difference in the outcome of elections, especially local elections, which is why it is vital to stay updated on political events so that we can more effectively use our voices beyondMarlborough.”