Trump’s Victory Leaves Hillary’s Chappaqua Supporters Stunned

By Anna Young

What was anticipated to be a festive celebration of the nation’s first woman president Tuesday night turned into a nightmare.

Adults and children of all ages congregated at Crabtree’s Kittle House to support fellow Chappaqua resident Hillary Clinton for an Election Night viewing party and to witness history, but went home despondent as they saw Donald Trump close in on the presidency.

As results began trickling in, the room that had more than 300 people brimming with confidence grew increasingly quiet.

“This is the scariest thing I’ve ever seen,” Chappaqua lawyer Michele Bermel said as the television showed Trump holding leads in most of the key states.

As polls around the country began to close, supporters anxiously surrounded the television screen waiting for results. They cheered for Clinton and booed at the sound of Trump’s name being uttered.

But the mood darkened. Many who planned to watch Clinton dominate, or at least win enough states and electoral votes to become the next president, couldn’t stomach the outcome.

“This cannot be happening,” one viewer said.

Dawn Greenberg, founder of the 1,100-member organization Chappaqua Friends of Hill, had spent the last year supporting the Clinton campaign, including organizing trips to battleground states and Tuesday night’s party.

With the room overflowing with more than 300 people, the supporters sported custom Hillary t-shirts and pins taking pictures with a cardboard cutout of the Democratic candidate.

“We put this event together to celebrate Hillary,” an exhausted Greenberg said. “It got a little bigger than I intended, but the whole town wanted to come out and celebrate.”

For some in the crowd, the chance to vote for a woman for president moved them emotionally.

“I burst into tears after voting today,” Francesca Hagadus, a Chappaqua Friends of Hill said. “I plan to stay here until a winner is announced.”

But as the night went on and the electoral votes began piling up for Trump, many partygoers left the event, including members of the group.

With the wait staff trying to clean up, 30 people remained in close proximity to the television shaking their heads in disgust and disbelief.

“The press created this monster,” one onlooker said. “Now they can live with him.”

Only one woman remained holding a glass a champagne as midnight approached.

“I can’t go home now and sleep,” she said. “If Trump wins, I’ll never sleep again.”