Michiana residents celebrate and learn to cope with Presidential Election results

 

Following the historic last several months that have played out on the national political stage, Wednesday's presidential results are splitting Americans on how they see the future, run under president-elect Donald Trump.

Some are feeling excited and revved up for the next four years, while others need more time to process what Trump's win and Kamala Harris's loss means for them.

"All of us are thinking about just processing right now and we're trying to unpack and understand what's going on and what it might mean," says Ben Futa, Owner & CEO of the Botany Shop.

Futa, who owns a local plant shop, is turning over a new leaf in the South Bend community, bringing people together during times when it can be easy to isolate, in this case, with the results of the presidential election.

"In those moments it's really easy to feel alone and it's easy to feel really scared," says Futa.

The day after the election, Futa kept the doors to his shop open later than typical business hours and invited neighbors to confide in each other around a campfire.

"Especially for us local independent businesses, this is where we can stand out," explains Futa. " A big-box store like Amazon is never going to care what neighbors feel. And they're never going to care how people are dealing. We care, and this is a way we can control this."

Meanwhile, there are still remnants of a joyous celebration at the Berrien County GOP Headquarters., even before Trump had officially swung the Mitten State in his favor.

"When that finally happened, sigh of relief. All the hard work paid off," recalls Shawn Hill with the Berrien County GOP.

Hill makes up a team of volunteers who put in 'boots on the ground' work over the last several months.

He says Trump's win in the swing state is nothing but momentum.

"What we have proven here is it can be done with a group of people, and we came together because we saw a cause," Hill says. "Now we're wondering, how many people come to the table to join our cause and help us out?"