'I will never move back': How do Americans in Germany feel about Trump's election win?

The results were not yet official when most of the people below replied to The Local's snap survey, but as of Wednesday evening (Berlin time), the New York Times, along with other major US and German news outlets, are calling the vote a Trump victory. The former US President and Republican party nominee has collected more than the 270 electoral college votes required to win.

The majority of respondents to The Local’s survey (about 70 percent) said they had voted for Kamala Harris. No respondents said they voted for Donald Trump, but a couple of respondents marked ‘prefer not to say’ when asked who they voted for. 

Two respondents noted that they voted for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who had remained on the ballot as a presidential candidate in a couple of states, even though he had dropped out of the national race after being offered a position in Trump’s cabinet. 

About 15 percent of respondents said they didn’t vote for a candidate in this election.

How do Americans in Germany feel now?

“Utter devastation”, “really worried”, and “scared and terrified”: these are among the answers that best sum up the majority response when we asked readers how they felt about the US election result.

“It’s a sad day for democracy!” wrote Helen, who works for a US company in Bavaria.

She was joined by plenty of others who shared concerns that this vote appears to show that the US seems to have lost sight of its long-held democratic ideals.

“The USA is headed in the wrong direction,” said Donna Skillern, who is a nurse’s aid in Baden-Württemberg. She added: “This is just the beginning of the far-right fascist authoritarian slide we as a country are moving toward. Goodbye rights and freedom.”

We also received a number of reactions to a Facebook post on the same topic. A number of comments on that post came from readers who said the election has deepened their conviction to stay in Germany for the long term.

"I will never move back to my home country," commented Lori Levey Dugan, adding that she is ready to apply for citizenship and is glad her family moved to Germany nine years ago.

April Horsley said: "Solidifies the fact that I will never move back and that I can’t raise my children in that country."

While some readers focused on anxieties related to the situation in the US, others were worried about what a second Trump presidency means for Germany, Europe and beyond.

“I think that the Americans choosing a criminal like Trump who is a traitor is disastrous, not only for America but for the world,” said Jeff Carlson who is a teacher in Frankfurt in a response to our survey. 

He noted particular concern that Trump could try to pull the US out of NATO, and that climate change will be further sidelined as an issue.

READ ALSO: What would a second Trump presidency mean for Germany?

Security concerns

Laura, who lives in Nuremberg, shared those concerns. She said she was “worried”, because “this affects Europe as much or more than the US, and I believe it has made us much less safe.”

Asked which issue is most important from their view as an American in Germany, six different respondents mentioned NATO specifically. 

Among them is Taylor, a master’s student in Hamburg, who noted that she’s feeling “disappointed, disheartened and scared for the future”. Along with concerns about the future of NATO strength, she noted “Ukrainian independence” is among the issues she is most concerned about at the moment.

Concerns for Ukraine, as well as NATO and European defence more broadly are also shared by some top-level German officials. Reportedly, German and French defence ministers have already scheduled an impromptu meeting to discuss Europe’s strategy.

‘Two terrible candidates’

Of course not everyone was upset about Trump’s election victory. 

Jay, who works in software development in Berlin, and said he didn’t vote, felt that the victory went to “the best of two terrible candidates”. He added, “I do actually feel like this is a good thing for America but perhaps not the EU and the rest of the world.”

Thelma, a college student in Cologne who didn’t share who she voted for, said: “Living abroad I feel far removed from it, but I understand his victory is part of a working class awakening and I accept it.”

Thelma added that she was “anxious about how Trump will be perceived on the international stage". She added: “I know people in Europe don’t understand why Americans just voted this way, so I hope America’s reputation isn’t harmed too badly.”

Messages of fear and hate on the rise back home and abroad

For individuals that belong to communities that are already marginalised in both Germany and the US, the results of this election seem to suggest that the world is becoming increasingly hostile.

“I am a black, gay, gender-queer, disabled parent living abroad. I have been in Germany for 4.5 years and am terrified that as a black gay femme activist for BLM, Trump will fulfil his threat to denaturalise me even though my family has been in the US since slavery,” said LC De Shay, who is a health journalist and reproductive psychosocial analyst living near Cologne.

De Shay added that they have teenage children, and are worried about their ability to access birth control or an abortion if needed in the US in the future. They wonder if Germany would grant amnesty to the Americans that Trump has threatened to harm. 

While Americans who also have German citizenship or permanent residency may find a bit of relief that they can avoid living directly under Trump’s rule by staying in Europe, those from immigration backgrounds who feel increasingly threatened by anti-immigration rhetoric in Germany may feel that they have nowhere left to turn.

“Every day I feel like Germany doesn't want me here, despite having a science PhD and trying my best to 'integrate’,” said a postdoc researcher in Saxony who wished to withhold their name. “I constantly feel unwelcome and am struggling to find a new job. Now I feel like I no longer have a home to return to if needed. I'm just stuck in a void.”

Ben who lives in Berlin and is currently studying German said that his immediate reaction to the election result was "utter devastation”, but he added that he thinks people need to understand “America cannot be written off as a singular event. 

“Fascism is on the rise across the globe and we must work together to address its root causes.”

Thank you to everyone who replied to The Local's survey and who replied to our social media post. We allowed people to be anonymous, but primarily used answers from those who gave us their names and emails, to avoid spam or disingenuous comments. Although we weren't able to use every comment, we read them all and they informed our article.