The results of the election are in: Donald Trump will be the 47th president of the United States.

Trump’s win comes after a campaign in which he consistently targeted immigrants, transgender youth, and other vulnerable communities with hateful rhetoric. He also threatened retribution against dissidents and political opponents.

I know that many of us fear what these results mean for our communities, our nation and ourselves. We know that a second Trump administration will be even more aggressive and effective than it was before — because Trump has repeatedly said so.

As outlined in Project 2025, under a second Trump administration, our federal government will deport immigrants in dragnet raids, target his political adversaries, spy on private citizens, promote discrimination against marginalized communities, and control what we can and can’t do with our bodies. This dystopian view of American life threatens our fundamental freedoms. We know from prior experience that our fear is real.

We also know that despair and resignation are not a strategy. At the ACLU, we’re choosing to channel our fear into action. Together, we are powerful enough to change the course of our nation’s history and defend our most fundamental rights and freedoms. That is why the ACLU has a concrete plan to fight back. When President-elect Trump comes for our communities, he’s gotta get through all of us.

During Trump’s first term, the ACLU filed 434 legal challenges against his administration, successfully blocking some of Trump’s most egregious policies, like the Muslim ban and separating immigrant families. When Trump once again set his sights on the White House, the ACLU’s legal and advocacy experts drafted a roadmap to combat his administration head-on. On day one, we are prepared to:

• Defend against the Trump administration’s unlawful mass deportation plan through coordinated action at all levels of government. We’ll also work with states and localities to protect residents to the full extent possible and ensure that a Trump administration can’t hijack state resources to carry out its draconian policies.
• Provide legal defense to whistleblowers and critics who dare to stand up to Trump’s policies. We’ll also protect freedom of speech and the right to protest against Trump’s agenda.
• Use the courts to affirm that LGBTQ people are protected from discrimination under federal law. We’ll fight to invalidate Trump administration policies that permit discrimination across the federal government, and to shut down the administration’s efforts to require discrimination at the state and local levels.
• Challenge the Trump administration’s dangerous attacks on reproductive freedom, including any attempts to weaponize the Comstock Act to ban abortion nationwide or to take medication abortion off the shelves. We’ll also protect access to birth control and family planning services.

As soon as the 119th Congress is sworn in, we will urge members to use their constitutional powers to provide oversight, investigate wrongdoing, and reject restrictive executive branch policies. At the state level, we’ll work with lawmakers to build a firewall for freedom and enact laws that protect people from government abuse. In our communities, we’re working to educate people on what is at risk, what happens next, and how we can fight for our freedoms together.

This is my sixth presidential election as executive director at the ACLU and there is not a doubt in my mind that our organization is the best equipped to meet this moment. We have more than a century of experience in combating political repression, we have some of the nation’s best legal and political advocates, we have our nationwide network of ACLU affiliates, and we have all of you.

The Trump administration’s anti-liberty and fundamentally anti-American policies will be met with the full firepower of the ACLU, the might of our allies, and the commitment of the American people. Above all else, that gives me hope. The next four years will be challenging, but we’re ready to put up the fight of the century. You can count on it.

Project 2025, Explained

Share your story about the impact Project 2025 could have on your life and community.

Source: American Civil Liberties Union

The ACLU’s commitments transcend election cycles and party politics. We are a nonpartisan organization with over 100 years of consistent advocacy for freedom and justice nationwide and 56 years in Maine. We are clear-eyed about the dangers posed by a second Trump presidency and the challenges ahead.

This moment is difficult, but it was not unexpected.

Together with our counterparts in all 50 states, we are ready to continue the fight. Over the past nine months, we have been preparing. Just like in 2016, the ACLU of Maine will get to work immediately to resist repression and totalitarianism. We take the president-elect at his word, and we are prepared to counter what we already know we can expect from the incoming administration with specific legislative and legal plans.

As we acknowledge the challenges we face, it is also important to remain clear about what this election means. This was not a referendum on what we believe. Elections are fought and won based on all kinds of intangibles - on fear, bias, "fit,” "taste,” and lies, as much as on conviction, vision, dedication, skill, or integrity. The civil rights pioneers who came before us knew this, expected it, and anchored their advocacy and activism not to the political cycle, but to bedrock principles and commitments.

There were many bright spots across the country last night as well.

• For the first time, we will have two Black women serving in the U.S. Senate and the first transgender U.S. Representative.
• Voters in Arizona and Missouri passed ballot initiatives reversing restrictive laws and restoring the abortion rights once protected under Roe.
• Voters in Maryland, Montana, Nevada, and Colorado expanded or codified their commitment to reproductive freedom.
• Kentucky voters rejected a proposal that would have opened the door for public dollars to fund private schools that discriminate against students based on race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, and gender identity.
• New York voters protected abortion access and expanded their state's Equal Rights Amendment to prohibit discrimination based on a person's pregnancy status.

And in Maine, we experienced one of the highest voter turnouts in the country, something that wouldn’t have been possible without our dedicated poll workers, volunteers, and election officials. We’re incredibly grateful to their commitment to carrying out a safe, fair election.

In the coming weeks and months, we will move forward decisively here in Maine and across the country to vindicate the rights and freedoms of those most vulnerable, to give voice to the values of our multicultural democracy, and to preserve the commitment to justice for all.

Thank you.