100 Reasons For Hope After Trump Has Been Re-Elected

There Is Still Much to Be Optimistic About

On the Friday after the election results, a neighbor told me to “get out of their — — in way!” when I attempted to make simple and calm conversation. They were so upset after the U.S. election results that they just wanted to retreat to their home and wait for a better day to reemerge. Many on social media are happy about Trump’s win, while numerous others have resorted to offering exercises for stress relief. Family members and friends have echoed the disposition of “it is what it is” though secretly harboring fears and concerns. The airwaves and digital streams continue such mixed messages. Conservative outlets seem to be doing a lot more gloating than taking stock of what their wins actually mean while commentators on the left seem to be in shock therapy mode. Meanwhile, U.S. political leaders and global leaders are inevitably turning to the new chapter to come.

As I continue to “swipe away” the social media posts and resort to watching old sitcom reruns myself, I constantly scratch my head. “Isn’t there more to be hopeful about?” This has influenced me to commence an extensive project to track and find 100 reasons to be hopeful and optimistic after Trump’s reelection. Below are those 100 reasons. Keep in mind these are coming entirely from my own point of view and others may have different reasons from diverging viewpoints. Nonetheless, I hope at least of few of these give you reason for hope whatever your deeper viewpoints and beliefs.

Photo by Miki Fath on Unsplash

1. One study reports that most Americans are hopeful about their own futures(82%). A small majority stated being hopeful about the future of the U.S. (56%) while a large minority (44%) are confident that humans will make significant progress on global challenges.
2. Another study of U.S. individuals 18–34 found most respondents were happy about their own future (75%) but a little under half (47%)were optimistic about the future of the country.
3. At least 42% of Americans surveyed in 2022 felt very or somewhat optimistic about the next generation’s future. Though this number could be higher, it is still in similar ranges to responses from the mid-1990s.
4. After the election, CNN survey respondents reported a mixture of reactions. One woman responded with a balance of fear for Trump yet cautious optimism for the future: “Like many Americans, I am nervous about a Trump presidency. However, I am optimistic about change. We need something done about the economy and student debt. I hope Trump does not leave those with debt behind. I also hope that the job market picks up so my spouse can get a job.”
5. Multiple states, including Minnesota, Colorado, Maine, and California, have enacted universal free student lunches.
6. In 2024, states like Tennessee and Delaware implemented programs to provide free diapers to low-income families.
7. Crime has continued to decline in major U.S. cities over the past few years. This includes profound reductions in violent crime with some cities seeing reductions as high as 30% to 70%.
8. In 2024, over 21 million Americans elected to enroll in a new health insurance plan offered through the Health Insurance Marketplace.
9. In 2022, 92.1% of Americans had health insurance coverage, either public or private. This was an increase from 91.7% in 2021.
10. In 2026, the citizens of the U.S. will come together to celebrate 250 years of independence. Many cities, states, and federal organizations are already planning celebrations.
11. With many of the tumultuous events over the past few years, there has been increased awareness about mental health among Americans. This includes increased self-care and less stigmatization.
12. In the past few years, many states enacted laws granting more voting rights to former prisoners. This included Minnesota and New Mexico.
13. Under the Biden Administration, over 4.8 million Americans have seen their student loans all or partially forgiven.
14. Biden’s administration worked to tackle super-pollutants like methane and HFCs.
15. The Biden Administration worked to fight “junk fees” charged to consumers by large banks and also fought to prevent discriminatory mortgage lending practices.
16. The Biden Administration has approved ten offshore wind-energy farms, enough to power 15,000 GW of electricity and create 77,000 jobs.
17. The Biden Administration has appointed over 400 federal judges over the past four years, a record-breaking number for modern presidents.
18. In the past few years, dozens of states have raised their state’s minimum wages. Some even charted regular increases to align with inflation.
19. Multiple Democratic state governors are already working to mount defenses against many radical policies that may be implemented under Trump’s presidency. These include curtailing the expansion of detention centers for undocumented immigrants and ensuring the protection of women’s health and transgender rights.
20. In light of the 2024 election results, Los Angeles has taken steps to become a sanctuary city. Other major U.S. cities, including Chicago, have pledged to remain sanctuary cities.
21. In the 2024 election, some states saw women’s health rights added to their state Constitutions. This included New York, Colorado, and Missouri.
22. While the federal government is now fully controlled by Republican majorities(which is also positive in many regards), many state governments are fully controlled by Democrats or have split party control between branches.
23. Even though the Republicans hold the majority in both branches of Congress, the Democratic party has a super-strong minority in both the House and Senate. Most extensive legislation will require strong bipartisan support to pass the Senate filibuster.
24. Under the first Trump Administration, many bills were signed by President Donald Trump with bipartisan support. This included the Save Our Seas Act and the Friendly Airports for Mothers Act.
25. In 2020, even Trump supported climate change mitigation efforts by signing legislation funding NOAA experiments in geoengineering the stratosphere.
26. History shows a pattern of shifting power from one party to another in both the Executive and Legislative branches.
27. Although a second Trump presidency spells fear and despair for individuals in the LGBTQ community, many key advocates and supporters are calling for greater lobbying and awareness around this issue than ever before. There is also great hope that on the dawn of Trump’s re-election, newly elected Delaware Representative Sarah McBride became the first openly transgender member of Congress.
28. Across many of the 50 states, many transgender leaders were elected to the state legislatures. This includes new members of state Congresses in Kentucky, Washington State, and Iowa.
29. Donald Trump will have to work with Republican members of Congress who voted to impeach him in 2021. This includes two Republican members of the House and multiple Republican Senators.
30. Donald Trump’s Interior Department Secretary pick Doug Burgum pledged to make North Dakota carbon neutral in the coming years. Granted, this was through carbon capture without any reduction in oil drilling but this is not a proposal Donald Trump would have offered.
31. Both the U.S. House and Senate have bipartisan climate solutions caucuses striving to advocate for legislation around climate change mitigation and solutions.
32. In the U.S., many states saw the recent renewal of grants to protect the environment and help curtail citizens from the impacts of climate change.
33. Multiple surveys have found that roughly 2/3 of Americans believe the country should prioritize the transition to renewable energy sources.
34. After Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2017, countless state and local government leaders across the country pledged to remain committed to lowering emissions in accordance with the treaty. In case of a Trump pullout, leaders and citizens across the U.S. are likely to commit to the same actions.
35. While Trump does promise to dismantle many policies and provisions enacted under Biden, it will be difficult to overturn many of the environmentally friendly projects and laws enacted under legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act which have funded clean energy and climate change mitigation projects across the country. According to some estimates, most funding from the IRA may have already been sent out.
36. Even though Trump has disparaged electric vehicles, his billionaire endorser and future Administration member Elon Musk is seeing his EV company, Tesla, continue to expand operations around the U.S., including expanding factories in Texas.
37. When congratulating Trump, Many European leaders emphasized hopes to build strong economic alliances and strengthen political ties through treaties like NATO. This is in contrast to many of Trump’s more isolationist policies. This offers hope that foreign leaders can protest Trump’s decisions if they do not positively protest global affairs.
38. In the 2024 election, multiple states and local governments scored huge environmental wins on the ballot. This includes a $10 billion climate fund in the state of California that funds climate resilience.
39. Recently, Los Angeles implemented its own “Green New Deal” with pledges to become carbon neutral by 2050.
40. Despite the U.S. now being at risk of leaving the Paris Climate Agreement again under Trump, numerous other countries continue to lead the world in reducing carbon emissions to net zero by 2050. Multiple developed countries in Europe and Oceania have already made great strides to reach set goals.
41. Several countries are already almost 100% powered by renewable energy, while renewable energy sources grew by 50% worldwide in 2023.
42. In September 2024, Norway became the first nation to have more electric vehicles than gas vehicles.
43. In 2023, $1.74 trillion was invested in renewable energy around the globe.
44. China has continued its expansion of renewable energies, increasing its wind energy by 66% in 2022 and producing more solar power in 2023 than the rest of the world combined.
45. India also has increased its production in renewable energy, with a goal to have 50% of energy production come from renewable sources by 2030.
46. In 2023, the world had 40 million electric vehicles on the road.
47. Over the next few years, the world is expected to add about 5,500 gigawatts of renewable energy so that half of the world’s energy supply will come from these sources. This does rely on nations to modify energy policies and grids to accommodate these sources, but many leading nations are already doing so.
48. The European Union actually dropped greenhouse gas emissions by 8% last year (2023).
49. Multiple newly elected leaders in the Western Hemisphere, including newly elected President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo of Mexico, are leaders in the fight against climate change.
50. Globally, 1,000 cities are part of the Cities Race to Zero, a pledge to become carbon neutral by 2050. Cities in the U.S. like Minneapolis and Washington D.C. are included in his pledge.
51. Nations and the world are continuing to explore ways to not only mitigate climate change but also reverse the crisis. Initiatives like Project Drawdown offer 100 solutions that could “draw down” atmospheric carbon concentrations to pre-industrial levels if implemented over the next 30 years.
52. In addition to reducing carbon emissions, nations around the world are also working to improve carbon capture technologies that can directly retrieve carbon from the atmosphere.
53. Many local and national governments, including those most vulnerable in low-level nations and coastal areas, are already implementing massive projects to circumvent the worst impacts of climate change like sea-level rise. For instance, the city of Venice, Italy has constructed 78 floodgates in the sea.
54. The 2022 IPCC report offered the following positive outlook in the midst of even the most dire projections: “But there is also positive news: all these risks can be reduced substantially by taking urgent action to limit global warming and by strengthening our adaptation efforts — for example by protecting and conserving nature, and by improving planning and management of our cities (for details see FAQ 5). The youth movement, together with many non-governmental organizations, has led to a rising wave of public global awareness of climate change and its life-threatening impacts. To successfully secure our own future and the future of the coming generations, climate risks must be factored into each decision and planning. We have the knowledge and the tools. Now it is our choice to make.”
55. Over 3% of the world’s oceans are currently legally protected conservation zones. There is an active global campaign to raise this number to 30% by 2030.
56. In early 2024, the E.U. pledged $3.7 billion U.S. dollars to help protect the oceans and new sustainability practices.
57. The world is disposing of less plastic than previous estimates, with over 100 countries banning plastic in one form or another.
58. In 2016, it was reported that 15% of the world’s land was protected. Current projections estimate that 18% is protected. There is much work to be done here, but multiple percentages of increase mark the efforts being made around the world to protect natural habitats.
59. Over the last few years, numerous endangered species have experienced resurgence and increased health. Tigers and jaguars have experienced growth in numerous parts of the world, while Mexico butterfly reserves marked a 35% increase in Monarch populations in the winter of 2021.
60. Although world hunger has increased since the 2020 Covid pandemic with 1 out of 11 people currently experiencing a lack of access to food, this number has decreased over the past half-century. In the 1970s, roughly 24% of the world faced a severe shortage of food for basic health.
61. Although two billion people still lack access to safely managed water, the proportion of the world population with access to essential safe drinking water improved from 62% in 2000 to 74% in 2020.
62. Worldwide, new HIV infections declined by 39% since 2010 and 60% since 1995.
63. Seven people in human history have now been completely cured of HIV. This offers continued hope for scientists and health advocates worldwide.
64. Life expectancy has continued to increase profoundly over the past few decades. By 2100, global life expectancy is expected to be in the early 80s with some countries seeing life expectancies in the early to mid 90s.
65. Globally, more generations of humans are alive now than at any other point in human history. A “Generation Z-er” born in 2000 may realize it is a common experience to interact with people born in the “Silent Generation” who may have been born in 1930. Those members of the Silent Generation may recall memories of people who had been born in the last half of the 19th century. These are connections possibly going back a century and a half altogether.
66. It is estimated that a few hundred thousand people who were born as part of the “Greatest Generation” from 1900 to 1920 are still living in 2024.
67. Some people, like Anna Del Priore, survived both the Spanish Flu in 1918 and CoVid in 2020. She was 108 in 2020. When asked for life lessons and secrets to her longevity and superhuman strength, she prescribed kindness and faith in the Divine.
68. Child mortality rates hit record lows globally in 2022, according to the UN.
69. Per capita consumption of cigarettes has decreased by 50% over the past several decades.
70. In addition to successfully developing vaccines and herd immunity to the Coronavirus, over the past few decades humanity has successfully combated multiple diseases. This includes the full eradication of diseases like smallpox and rinderpest and the potential to fully or partially eradicate several other diseases.
71. In 2022, the first malaria vaccine was approved by the World Health Organization.
72. The global population is expected to increase to 9.7 billion by 2050 and between 10.5 and 11 billion in 2100. This brings many profound challenges but also offers wondrous hope as life expectancy, access to education, and global wealth all increase while poverty and hunger can be expected to continue to decrease.
73. The world is estimated to produce enough food to feed 10 billion people. This offers hope that with greater sustainability efforts and waste reduction, the billions of people to be born over the coming century(and beyond) can have access to enough food.
74. While very real concerns about artificial intelligence and automation persist as technology continues to advance, AI has already helped to improve the world in many regards. AI has already been shown to help improve the diagnosis of conditions like Parkinson’s Disease and simplify transportation jobs like developing more efficient routes for truckers.
75. AI also holds profound promise to boost human well-being, from advancing emergency medical care to providing emotional and mental health support to people on a constant basis.
76. Although AI will likely displace many workers and lead to some lost jobs, some experts project that AI can help create over 97 million jobs globally in the next several years.
77. Over the coming century, many economists like David Autor theorize that whole new occupations and industries will be created with the expansion of AI and automation.
78. Currently, 2/3 of the world’s population, or 5.3 billion people, have access to the Internet.
79. In the Fall of 2024, schools in France instituted provisions for students to lock away their phones during school hours. This is part of a “digital pause” movement, and many other nations are planning similar practices.
80. The continued advancement of the Internet, social media, and automation have helped to land a new breed of news reporting companies. This has allowed for many “traditional” news agencies, including newspapers and magazines, to thrive in the digital arena. Nonprofit news organizations are also starting to blossom.
81. Globally, the advancements in technology, AI, and social media have allowed millions more people and companies to implement more flexible work plans. Employers can save money by enforcing work-from-home policies while still creating a strong company culture. Employees can save on commute time and energy, which can help to lower carbon emissions.
82. In 2023, some of the first meat grown from animal cells was sold at U.S. restaurants. What amazing hope for the future of food production!
83. In 2010, the Burj Khalifa was built in the UAE. It stands at 2722 feet tall and is the tallest building in the world.
84. Japan launched a wooden satellite into space recently, marking a more sustainable path for future space exploration.
85. Over the past decade, amazing records have continued to be set in space exploration. Both India and China have charted landings to unexplored parts of the moon while the ESA, NASA, and SpaceX have all led successful missions to land probes on asteroids and comets.
86. The majority of the world’s population today lives in democratic nations. Contrast this to 100 years ago when most people lived in closed autocracies.
87. While over fifty countries were reported to have diminished citizens’ rights and liberties, over twenty countries were reported to have improved freedoms as of Freedom House’s 2024 report.
88. Over the past decade, numerous social and cultural movements have helped motivate millions and transform societies. The most pivotal of these grassroots movements have included rallies against climate change, the #Metoo movement, and Black Lives Matter.
89. As of 2024, 36 countries globally have moved to legalize same-sex marriage, with more nations considering the issue in the coming few years.
90. While 67 countries still criminalize same-sex relationships, over the past several years multiple countries have decriminalized homosexuality and gender diversity. This includes several African nations and Caribbean nations that still had colonial laws on the books.
91. While many U.S. states and nations push to restrict transgender rights in athletics, the International Olympic Committee released new frameworks in 2021 ensuring nondiscrimination of individuals based on gender identity and sex variations.
92. Younger generations are faring as well as (and often even better than) previous generations in terms of earned income. This offers great hope for the economies of many nations even if such numbers do not take into account the cost of living or inflation.
93. Although the world is facing catastrophes and current wars in Ukraine and Gaza, in September 2024 global leaders convened in New York for the annual UN conference. Leaders discussed initiatives for combating climate change and considered new proposals to promote world peace.
94. Pope Francis made a speech at the Cop29 conference this week, urging world leaders to continue working to solve the climate crisis and unite despite numerous walls being built by nations.
95. For the past several years, numerous major world spiritual leaders have been vocal advocates for climate change mitigation and action by global leaders and members of their spiritual communities.
96. Although outgoing President Biden is not attending the Cop29 Conference, other global leaders including government heads from the EU, UK, India, and China are present. The conference is expected to run through November 22 and includes finance negotiations to help fund the efforts of developing countries to become carbon neutral.
97. In light of the election results, one America Magazine writer offers the following challenge to each of us: “As we dare to open our eyes and hearts to the many forms of exhaustion and pain around us, we must cultivate a practice of compassion, both individual and corporate, that includes a commitment to justice.”
98. One Truthout op-ed challenges readers to commit to social action and advocacy: “Social movements alone have the potential to produce a response to Trump that both invites mass participation and that is connected to a broader vision for change.”
99. One op-ed writer reminds readers how they have a profound role in crafting a better future, no matter who won the election: “I share this as a reminder that good things can happen when you choose to be active and involved in moving the world to be closer to the one you hope to live in.”
100. Whatever one’s spiritual perspective, astrophysicist Lawrence Krauss’s words offer hope and challenge regarding times like these. Additionally, they remind us of the greater meaning of our world’s events related to the unlimited grandeur and infinite mystery of the Cosmos: “Through an awe-inspiring cosmic history we find ourselves on this remote planet in a remote corner of the universe, endowed with intelligence and self-awareness. We should not despair, but should humbly rejoice in making the most of these gifts, and celebrate our brief moment in the sun.”

Photo by Phil Botha on Unsplash

So, thank you for considering these 100 reasons to be hopeful. I hope you find at least some of them meaningful and helpful. These reasons are only a few of countless more than could be considered. What reasons for hope might you find in these so very haphazard times? What reminds you that the best is yet to come?