Election Day excitement came to a sharp halt for Democratic voters when news of Trump’s victory came the next morning. In the following weeks, post after post on social media centered around shared feelings of disappointment. A month later, here’s a look back at three ways social media creators reacted to Trump’s win.
The final stretch of the 2024 United States presidential election was tinged with hope for many Democratic voters.
Three months before the November 5 Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee. Democrats made the last-minute switch after Biden’s less-than-impressive performance in a presidential debate against former president Donald Trump. Compared to Biden, Harris seemed more energetic and competent, and more equipped to beat Trump.
Many news organizations predicted that the election could be so close that the result would remain unknown for days after November 5.
But before 6:00 a.m. the next day, the Associated Press had already called the race for Trump.
To say Harris supporters were disappointed would be an understatement. In the days after the election, many of them used TikTok as a space to process Trump’s win and exchange advice.
“We should have seen it coming”
Some creators pointed out that a Trump victory should not have been surprising. From fashion to food, recent online trends have pointed to a cultural shift toward conservatism.
TikTok creator Elysia Berman posted a video explaining how recent beauty trends reflect the conservative cultural shift. Berman said current standards of beauty emphasize a simplistic, toned-down aesthetic: features that signaled a shift toward conservativism in America.
Bold makeup and bright hair colors are out of fashion. Recent trends are all about muted color, subtlety, and a no-effort look — features that cater to the male gaze, Berman said.
Fashion has a history of going hand-in-hand with politics, according to a 2020 Vogue article.
The Vogue article included a comment from Andrew Bolton, head of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute: “Fashion functions as a mirror to our times, so it is inherently political.”
Fashion and social media trends can also predict politics. In another video, Berman said that even months before the election, conservative trends on social media foreshadowed Trump’s win.
Nara Smith is among the best examples of social media conservatism. Smith is an online creator whose content romanticizes traditional values. Berman described Smith’s content as symbolizing quiet luxury, the tradwife trend, and hyper-femininity.
Smith is known for making everything imaginable from scratch, from Cheez-Its to ginger ale to donuts. On Smith’s TikTok page, she is often shown wearing formal attire while cooking in her kitchen. Her videos are recognizable for their calm, monotone voiceovers.
In many of Smith’s videos, she talks about catering to her children’s and husband’s desires. Her content idealizes old-fashioned gender roles in which a woman is expected to stay at home, cook, and focus on parenting.
The view counts on Smith’s videos are consistently in the millions. Since 2023, she has attracted significant social media attention. She has gained more than 11 million followers on TikTok.
Content creator Gia Rutkowski said in a video that the popularity of influencers like Smith reflects a cultural conservative shift.
“The internet is actually a really effective tool of gauging ideological shifts in the real world,” Rutkowski said in her video. “Even if Nara Smith isn’t trying to promote tradwife ideals, her content still represents an archetype.”
Blocking and boycotting
After Election Day, Americans reached a new high point in their political divide. Many Harris voters decided they wanted nothing to do with businesses and online creators who supported Trump.
Some content creators posted lists of companies that funded the Republican effort, advising anti-Trump viewers to spend their money elsewhere.
In an eight-minute-long video, TikTok creator @hearmeoutonthis2 read a handwritten list of nearly 130 companies and organizations that donated largely to Trump and to the conservative effort Project 2025.
The creator said she got most of her information from Goods Unite Us, an app that tracks thousands of companies’ political donations.
In addition to exposing brands that supported Trump, some videos called out individual creators or influencers. These online posts suggested that viewers block or unfollow creators who voted for, or even allegedly voted for, Trump.
TikToker @marissadeanne posted a block list that included influencers who were silent about politics, reasoning that “silence is violence.”
Blocking Trump-supporting influencers has served as a boycott of sorts, similar to avoiding certain businesses. For creators whose jobs are to make online content, followers and viewers equal money.
But other block lists are more personal than brands and influencers. Some non-Trump voters have distanced themselves from Trump supporters more generally, from online mutuals to family members.
The reason for cutting off Trump voters, TikTok creator @skendeezy explained in a video, goes beyond politics. Many non-Republican voters equate a vote for Trump to a lack of morals and a disregard for the American people.
For example, the creator said, “This is about not just political difference on how should public schools be funded. This is whether public schools should exist or not.”
Advice for the coming Trump presidency: Stay safe and move forward
Safety and future planning
Many members of marginalized groups, such as the LGBTQ+ community, people of color, and women, fear how Trump’s second presidency may impact them.
As a result, some social media creators suggested safety measures for these people to take after the election.
On Election Day, TikToker Jesse Dean posted a video anticipating that there would be chaos regardless of whether Trump or Harris won. Dean’s safety advice for the days following the election was to stay home and avoid discussing politics with strangers.
After Trump’s victory was announced, more creators shared their advice. Much of this focused on helping viewers plan for the next four years.
Under Trump’s leadership, birth control faces an uncertain future. Acknowledging that another Trump presidency means “birth control is not guaranteed forever,” TikToker @teenclinicnp posted a video about forms of long-acting birth control that could last through the duration of Trump’s presidency.
Other videos were directed at people who want to leave the United States before Trump takes office. Online creators were quick to post lists of countries that are easy or cheap for Americans to move to.
Move forward
At the same time, some content creators made calls to action. They reassured people that the election result was not the end of the world.
Gen Z political content creators Dean Withers and Parker Short warned viewers not to deny the validity of Trump’s win. Their advice was to move forward and get involved in politics.
“Don’t be a sore loser,” Short said in a TikTok video. “We lost. We have a lot of work to do.”
Harris expressed the same sentiment in her concession speech. She encouraged supporters to accept the election result but to keep fighting for the values her campaign stood for.
“To everyone who is watching, do not despair,” Harris said. “This is not a time to throw up our hands. This is a time to roll up our sleeves.”
Social media as resistance
Social media was overflowing with election-related content in the days after Trump’s win. Anti-Trump voters shared disbelief, grief, fear, and anger — as well as political updates and advice.
Patrick Jones, also known as Mr. JonesX, said the most valuable online posts following Election Day have been the educational ones. Content that helps people form contingency plans, which could include leaving a red state or the country, can be particularly useful for women and people in the queer community.
Jones is one of the founders of Transformative Uprising For Freedom, a nonprofit organization that works to uplift marginalized communities.
Jones said that even though some of the election-related online content is educational, posting negative reactions to Trump’s win comes with risks.
“I do believe that it puts a target on a lot of creators,” Jones said. “Trump essentially claimed that this was going to be his comeback tour, and so there may be content creators that [Trump and his supporters] look to target.”
Jones said it is important that social media creators speak up about the dangers of Trump’s leadership, but as with any kind of activism, creators should understand the risks involved.
“My father was active in the Civil Rights Movement,” Jones said. “He told me at a very young age, whatever it is that you’re looking to fight for, understand that that fight could be your last.”
As for viewers who feel overwhelmed by the onslaught of election-related content on their feeds, Jones said the social media response can be disturbing, but some of the posts are worth paying attention to.
“Sometimes it’s important to take a break from taking in the content that you know is triggering to your mental health,” Jones said, but “some of it may be very educational, and you may learn something that could potentially help you.”
