Thank You, Donald Trump
Issue 2903 -November 5, 2026
I started writing at least five different articles in my head after watching the election returns Tuesday night. I committed exactly none of them to print until now because my head was spinning with the energy all around, and—let me be honest—I scrolled social media way too much.
I still haven’t come to firm conclusions about how I’d characterize exactly what happened in America on November 3rd. It’s been called a blue wave, a blue tsunami, a blue surge.
But let me start with thank you, Donald Trump. You finally woke people up and got them involved in the political process. I know that wasn’t exactly what you had planned, but politics is like that. It’ll fool you every time.
Because once you get the American people’s attention, especially if you piss them off, and if they actually have the opportunity to vote, their votes very often come down on the side of core American values of liberty and justice for all, not just for the few. And once the sleeping giant is awake, the momentum can’t be stopped even with endless money or midterm redistricting designed to tilt the election your way. This was beyond party affiliation. Bigger than red or blue or even purple.
Still, all evening, as people were cheering, I kept feeling uneasy. Like déjà vu. Been here, done this “it’s a sea change, the voters have spoken, everything is going to be different now” thing, and I actually do have the T-shirts to prove it.
I know how good it feels to pull on that shirt the morning after an election and how easy it is to put it back in the drawer by Friday.
Well, sorry, folks. In a democracy, nothing is ever won forever. You have to stay involved and work for it every single day. The next election starts the day after the last one. And if you want a win to have staying power, you need an agenda that gives people something to organize around.
Anger energy is a great motivator, but aspiration energy is what you need to make change for the long term.
What do we want now? Let’s start with putting the Equal Rights Amendment into the Constitution officially, and make women equal citizens 103 years after the ERA was first proposed by suffragist Alice Paul. About time, don’t you think?
And once women’s civil rights have been affirmed, you can move on to tackling support for caregiving, reinstate the healthcare and food programs that have been cut, make tax policies fair again, and…add your policy priorities in the comments.
The candidates who won last night will need to account for what they plan to do with the attention they have right now. It’s up to us, their constituents, to hold them accountable of course, and it’s important for citizens to learn and practice how to stay in touch. It’s easy. Call to congratulate them now. Once in office, write or call them to tell them how you want them to vote on issues. Thank them afterward if they vote as you asked or let them know you’re not happy if they didn’t, and ask them why.
I also wonder what these newly elected officials will ask of the people who knocked on doors, made calls, or stood in line to vote? There’s an awful lot of energy in a room full of people who just found out their work mattered. I’d get them back in that room while they still remember how it felt. Ask them what they want to work on, and give them a way to do it.
We are in a new world today. Perhaps the United States of America will survive thanks in no small part to grassroots activism many of us have been doing for decades and those of you who are newly activated by the issues of 2026. I can tell all of you that the most important thing is to remember the real work starts now.
It’s easier to fight against something than to fight for it. We have a chance to fight for and fight forward so let’s go.
I am re-energized in a way that I haven’t been for a long time.
So thank you, Donald Trump, for waking people up to the threats to their lives and liberties.
It’s up to the rest of us to turn that anger into something people can see and feel in their own lives. And if somebody tells you Tuesday night changed everything, ask them what they’re doing next Tuesday.
It’s easier to fight against something than to fight for it. We have a chance to fight for and fight forward so let’s go.
Join up with Take The Lead and let’s change the world together.
GLORIA FELDT is the Co-founder and President of Take The Lead, a motivational speaker, and a global expert in women’s leadership development and DEI for individuals and companies that want to build gender balance. She is a bestselling author of five books, most recently Intentioning: Sex, Power, Pandemics, and How Women Will Take The Lead for (Everyone’s) Good. Honored as Forbes 50 Over 50, and Former President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, she is a frequent media commentator. Learn more at www.gloriafeldt.com and www.taketheleadwomen.com. Find her @GloriaFeldt on all social media.