5 Reasons I'm 'Excited' For Trump 2.0

They're Not What You Think

Jan 20, 2025

Growing up in Hawaii, I've lived through major earthquakes, tropical storms, hurricanes, and even a small tsunami. I know a thing or two about nature's power and the feeling of anticipation that comes before a storm. It's not excitement, but it lives in the same place. It's a hunkering down and girding myself of what's to come—living in an unknown limbo before you step outside, see the damage, and realize what steps you must take to rebuild your life. I feel that now. A storm is coming, and as Queer people have done for millennia, we will stand strong in that storm and rebuild with love, hope, and joy.

Today is a dark day for America. At least, it is for the America that I want to believe in. This second Trump presidency will be unlike anything we've seen before, and all I want to do right now is keep my little flame of hope alive. On every media platform today, there will be purposeless analysis of things we can't know yet, hand-wringing about hypotheticals, and celebration by many who see this country differently than I do. So I wanted to give you something different. I had to dig pretty deep, but I found five silver linings I'm 'looking forward to' in the coming years. These won't detract from the hardship that Queer people are about to face, but hopefully they'll spread a little hope. Because as Harvey Milk said, "Without hope, the us's give up. I know that you cannot live on hope alone, but without it, life is not worth living. And you, and you, and you have got to give them hope."

If you'll need more hope and community in the coming years (and who won't), it would mean the world to me if you subscribed below.

1. The Rising Trailblazers

While the names of the loudest, most bigoted members of our government (and society) get the most attention, there are still so many incredible leaders that are about to become the front line of the fight for Queer rights. While this current Congress will no doubt be a terrible one for LGBTQ+ folk, we can't ignore that it also has the largest group of out LGTBQ+ members in U.S. History.

These thirteen individuals have become the first line of defense for the anti-Queer legislation on the horizon. Read this list to get familiar with their names. If you know M*rjorie T*ylor Gr*en and N*ncy M*ce, know their opponents.

Sarah McBride (DE), Emily Randall (WA), Julie Johnson (TX), Robert Garcia (CA), Ritchie Torres (NY), Tammy Baldwin (WI), Mark Pocan (WI), Mark Takano (CA), Angie Craig (MN), Sharice Davids (KS), Chris Pappas (NH), Becca Balint (VT), and Eric Sorensen (IL).

And beyond Washington, there are so many incredible Queer people out there doing vital work. Zoey Zephyr and her wife, Erin Reed, are a trans power couple in Montana. Reed's Substack Erin in the Morning, which delivers Trans news daily, has almost 80,000 subscribers, and I know she will be a source of news for me in the years to come. Brian Derrick is also a guiding light and a great source of pragmatic optimism during these dark times. And, of course, there will be so many that I’ll continue to highlight as time goes on.

2. The Art That Will Come

Beyond just politicians, I'm looking forward to all the incredible art that will be made in the coming years. Even though art doesn't have quite the same support or respect in our country as in others, it is a vital institution. Art helps us make sense of the world we're living in or escape hardship for a while. Some of the most lasting art was made during the darkest times, like George Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984, Toni Morrison's Beloved, Pablo Picasso's Guernica, Anne Frank's Diary, Schindler's List, and Waiting for Godot.

In college, I had a real crisis about why I was going into theatre and what the point of it all was. Now, being out of school for a while and living through the tumultuous last decade, I've realized just how special art can be. Two of my favorite shows I've done, American Idiot and Hair, are brazen pieces of protest art that can enact real-world change. One week after the 2016 election, the students of Penn State held a campus march that culminated in The HUB, a massive indoor amphitheater gathering spot. The three floors were jammed with students, and after the speeches, right before we were about to disperse, Maria Wirries, a dear friend, started to sing "Let The Sun Shine" from Hair, which we had done about six months before. Many of the cast were there and joined in, and before we'd gotten more than a few bars in, almost everyone else was singing, too. It is a memory that still brings me to tears and one I'll never forget.

*The aforementioned gathering moments before we started singing.*

3. We Are The Revolution (Again)

If protest art doesn't feel enough for you, then let that discontent take you off your phones or couches and into the streets. We are the counterculture again, we are the revolution again, we are the resistance again. My fiance always says that he feels so grateful to have grown up and come out in the era of Lady Gaga, Obama, and Glee as we experienced a honeymoon period of progress. But unfortunately, that has ended as dramatically as it arrived

Now, I know that those on the right feel this way, too. They feel as though the liberal elites are running the country and telling them how to live their lives. So what do we do when both sides feel they're the resistance and the other is the empire? I honestly don't know. But I do know that this will be a time of righteous causes and fiery justice. Let the news inspire a small fire inside you, and let that small fire bring you to a meeting or donate $5 to a nonprofit instead of getting coffee one day. Let that feeling encourage you to become a better civic community member. Get to know your neighbors and ensure everyone is informed about what is happening in our world. Especially with the troubling evolution of our social media, make real connections with folks.

4. Community

In times of darkness, we'll need each other more than anything else. In the two months since the election, I've already felt a massive shift in how people want to spend time together. Maybe it's a combination of this and phone loneliness (an entire article on that coming soon). Still, whatever the reason, I'm excited for the new friends I will make in the coming years and the deepening of my current relationships and community ties.

According to Biden's Surgeon General, Vivek H. Murthy, "The mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day and even greater than that associated with obesity and physical inactivity." Clearly, we need people. And that's under a Biden administration. Under a Trump one, we're going to need people even more to counteract all the nonsense and tragedy to come. So send that text, ask that new friend for coffee, get off your phone, and go into the real world. It's hard sometimes and can be uncomfortable, but our bodies and minds need that connection on a primal level, so go get it.

5. Our Joy Becomes Richer

When you get that connection, take stock of how good it feels. It might not be as comfortable as sitting at home watching your favorite show, but it will make you feel better. And that's the last thing I'm excited for in these coming years. The hard times will be harder, but they will make those good times so much better.

Anna Lembke, a psychiatrist and Chief of the Stanford Addiction Clinic, talks about dopamine as a see-saw in the brain. Our brains need balance. If we give ourselves too much pleasure, we weigh down that side of the see-saw, and the brain starts creating pain to balance it out. The opposite is also true; when we endure pain, like exercise, our brain rewards us with pleasure to balance out the see-saw. I apply this to life writ large. Let the dark times bring out your brightest light. And let yourself revel in that joy. Find the things that make you feel fuzzy inside and protect them. Erin Reed (referenced in point 1) has this to say about what she does in hard times.

"It's in these times that I am reminded of other hard times for trans and queer people in history. I often, when looking to the past, am struck by how in spite of the bad things and in spite of the fear, I always find queer people smiling. My favorite picture of the Stonewall uprisings are not of the LGBTQ+ people marching or the night of the riot, but the one taken the very next day, with friends holding each other in front of the boarded up building knowing that just a day before, police violence was enacted upon them, and knowing that there was no end in sight ahead of them. Just 30 years earlier, I look to pictures of trans women smiling at the El Dorado, knowing fascism was ascendent in Germany. If these people found warmth and the will to recharge themselves, maybe we all can."

I know we can. No matter how dark it gets, we will always be able to find warmth and joy in the arms of others. Queer spaces have always been the haven for those who did not fit in, for those who felt othered, for those who had no one else to fight for them. We must keep the spaces and communities alive and thriving. When historians look back, let them see hundreds of smiling photos, proving that no matter what attacks came down the line, our joy was unshakable. Because our joy and love are the most beautiful acts of resistance there are.

I am so honored to have this community here and know that no matter what comes, I'm not going anywhere. While our leaders are fighting and our artists are creating, we and the communities we nurture must be an unstoppable resistance fueled by hope, joy, and love.