Donald Trump

‘Hate Was Given Hope': Aaron Sorkin Writes Letter To His Daughter After Trump Win

The man behind “The West Wing” and “The Newsroom” penned a message to his wife and 15-year-old daughter following Donald Trump’s victory saying "the Klan won last night"

Aaron Sorkin, the Oscar-winning screenwriter behind "The West Wing," "The Newsroom" and "The Social Network" penned a message to his wife and 15-year-old daughter following Donald Trump’s victory Tuesday night.

“I won’t sugarcoat it—this is truly horrible,” Sorkin wrote. “It’s hardly the first time my candidate didn’t win (in fact it’s the sixth time) but it is the first time that a thoroughly incompetent pig with dangerous ideas, a serious psychiatric disorder, no knowledge of the world and no curiosity to learn has.” 

After the electoral college votes rolled in on Nov. 8, Sorkin admonished the results of a highly contentious election cycle in his letter. He wrote that Trump’s campaign gave power to discriminatory movements across the United States.

“The Klan won last night,” he wrote. “White nationalists. Sexists, racists and buffoons. Angry young white men who think rap music and Cinco de Mayo are a threat to their way of life (or are the reason for their way of life) have been given cause to celebrate. Men who have no right to call themselves that and who think that women who aspire to more than looking hot are shrill, ugly, and otherwise worthy of our scorn rather than our admiration struck a blow for misogynistic s***heads everywhere. Hate was given hope.”

The ramifications of empowering bigotry? “Our NATO allies are in a state of legitimate fear,” Sorkin wrote. “And speaking of fear, Muslim-Americans, Mexican-Americans and African-Americans are shaking in their shoes. And we’d be right to note that many of Donald Trump’s fans are not fans of Jews. On the other hand, there is a party going on at ISIS headquarters.” 

Sorkin believes that in 2016, “abject dumbness was glamorized as being ‘the fresh voice of an outsider’ who’s going to ‘shake things up.’” He argued that among those looking for change, most lack an understanding of how Trump will actually reform things: “Is he going to re-arrange the chairs in the Roosevelt Room?” he asked. 

For those searching for ways to respond to what they perceive as an American tragedy, Sorkin advised them to “get out of bed. The Trumpsters want to see people like us (Jewish, ‘coastal elites,’ educated, socially progressive, Hollywood…) sobbing and wailing and talking about moving to Canada.”

Instead, “We’ll f***ing fight,” he wrote. 

“America didn’t stop being America last night and we didn’t stop being Americans and here’s the thing about Americans: Our darkest days have always—always—been followed by our finest hours,” he added.

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