Dear Mr. President,

Oh how great it feels to still call you by that title. You have been an inspiration to this country. You were the first president I grew up with and came to know because I was at an age where I knew who you were and what your role was as the President of the United States of America. You blossomed my fascination with politics and the media. You were an amazing POTUS, and I remember crying tears of joy the day you were elected eight years ago.

After everything this country has been through, you proved race had no boundaries and created a milestone by becoming the first African American president; I am saddened by your replacement. This is my country, but tomorrow when you say goodbye, Donald Trump will not be my president!

You were kind, intelligent, charismatic, youthful, and cared about this nation, as well as, all the American citizens within it. Sadly, our President Elect is a narcissistic, bigot, inexperienced, racist, sexist, and joke of a president. I am frightened to see what this country is to become, and I can only hope for the best. Trump has caused nothing but hate and violence since he won the presidency. How can a man with no background in politics, someone who has mocked almost every single race and ethnicity besides caucasians, care for 318.9 million people with same dignity and respect as you have. Obviously, as an American, I am rooting for Trump to succeed, however, it is hard to look past his ridiculous actions and words, and I will admit, I am afraid.

I fear his  ignorance and arrogant ambition will be the death of this country. I fear for him to start a war. I fear for the hatred and violence that will inevitably cause our great nation to tear itself apart from within.

As my president, you always made me smile. Your resolve was unprecedented; there were ups and downs, as expected in any presidency, but you always persevered and came out on top. On your last day as my president, I noticed that Twitter has rewarded you with the hashtag #ThankYouObama where over 100 million people tweeted about your excellence over these past 8 years. You have led this country with such great class, integrity, equality, and diversity.

Mr. President, you entered your presidency facing the worst financial crisis in 80 years, and you have brought remarkable change to this country. You delivered the longest streak of job growth in the history of America. Only two years after becoming my president the percentage of Americans without health insurance has fallen by almost half, hitting an all-time low. After decades of rising health care costs, today nearly every American now has access to the financial security of affordable health care. You lowered the amount of uninsured citizens from 16% of the population to a miraculous 8.9%. It is absolutely devastating to think of Trumps first act as president, as he stated on Twitter, is to to get rid of ObamaCare/The Affordable Care Act. Just think what is to become of all those Americans. Since 2008 you have cut our dependence on foreign oil by more than half. From 11,115 to 4,711. You brought home more of our troops and strengthened U.S leadership-leading with diplomacy and partnering with nations to meet global problems. Did I mention how much I appreciate you bringing the man responsible for 9/11 to lethal justice? By making same-sex marriage legal, you strengthened this country with love. Until the very last moments of your presidency you continued to make us better. You signed The Cures Act which pays for cancer research. You kept up the good fight against the epidemic of opioid abuse, mental health treatment, the Food and Drug Administration’s speed in drug approvals, and better use of technology in medicine. You lead the record in most fundraisers in presidential history. Although there’s a lot of controversy regarding deportation and whether or not it’s a good thing, you have the most deportations carried out by any previous president. You passed the American Recovery and Reinvestmet Act which signed $787 billion in 2009 to spur economic growth amid the greatest recession since the Great Depression.

These are just few of the many examples of how you made this country great, so I am confused why Trump believes it needs to be, “Great Again.” When did it stop?

You and your gracious family were amazing, and it was an absolute honor to call you my president. America loves you, and I love you POTUS. I will follow your lead. I believe you when you say, “believe…not in the presidents ability to create change, but in mine.” I can do this! We can do this, but America will miss you.

Sincerely,

Jena Huante