In more than two dozen interviews since his stunning Election Day victory, women have expressed emotions ranging from grief, fear and anger to celebration over having a businessman in the White House.

America's next president will be a man.

Not just any man — but a white, brash, billionaire whose takes on consent and women's health are "different" at best, and "terrifying" at worst, more than two dozen Rhode Island women said in interviews.

During Hillary Clinton's run for president, her team took an expected approach: court female voters by contrasting the longtime feminist candidate, riding high on the historic nature of her nomination, with Donald Trump — a New York businessman and playboy caught on tape bragging about kissing and groping women without their approval.

But — it seems — the strategy fell flat.

While more than half of voting women, 54 percent, chose Clinton, 42 percent picked Trump, according to exit polls. Though significant, it's a margin on par with President Barack Obama's 11-point lead with ladies in 2012, and Bill Clinton's 16-point lead with women in his run against Bob Dole in 1996, according to polls.

There was no landslide victory that many — like Ramona Santos and her two daughters — had dreamed of. It will be at least another four years before a woman will take that last unattainable title: Madam President.

Some said they are "bracing for the impact" of the Trump-Pence administration, which campaigned on promises to overturn Roe v. Wade, defund Planned Parenthood, and punish women who seek abortions. Since Trump's win, Planned Parenthood has seen a rise in requests for long-term birth control options such as IUDs and implants, said Judy Tabar, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southern New England.

But, other women, such as Paula LaFontaine — a libertarian who calls herself a "Trump chick" — are celebrating. Finally, she said, someone with good business sense will occupy the Oval Office.

For every Trump enthusiast interviewed for this story, there is a lesbian, a Latina, or a Muslim reeling over Tuesday night's results. They are terrified, and they are furious.

Sitting in their living room in Providence Thursday night, Ramona Santos and her daughters were exasperated. They're Dominican. Ramona and her oldest daughter, Esther Quiroz, 20, immigrated to Rhode Island 12 years ago.

Their household is "feminist to the 10th degree," said Ramona Santos. She's a single mom who has raised her daughters to be independent and hardworking, and to value education. Sitting on the couch side by side, the three looked like clones of one another, the same thick, curly hair, the same oval-shaped face, the same frustration seething through their quick smiles.

Rachel Santos, 11, woke up on Wednesday morning afraid her "whole family was going to get deported" and she would be alone. It's not fair, her mother said, for a child to carry that much anxiety.

Trump has hit the family on several fronts, said Quiroz. They're Hispanic women, and Rachel has special needs; she's autistic and has ADHD, Ramona Santos said.

"Every time he opens his mouth he says something that touches me. It's boom, boom, boom," she said, punching the air. "Like, come on, man. Can you stop now?"

For the first time in her working life, Jenn Krapf, 46, cannot watch the news with her cup of morning coffee. Seeing Trump's facial expressions and hearing his "low opinions of women" brings her back to a darker time — her teenage years, when her boyfriend would beat and rape her every night, she said.

Trump's abrupt shift from his campaign vitriol, to a more measured tone promising to unite the country, sounds an awful lot like the apologies her ex would offer after a night of relentless abuse.

"That's the thing about an abuser," she said. "They are very charming people that have the ability to make you believe in them."

Wendy Manchester Ibrahim, the vice president of the Rhode Island Council for Muslim Advancement, worries that Trump's casual language about sexual assault will unravel what she's taught her two daughters about consent.

"I want them to know that the way he speaks ... that it is not OK," she said. "And it's certainly not OK for anyone to touch you in a place where you don't want to be touched."

But how can her girls, 12 and 14, be sure their mother is right, she pondered, if their president is preaching the opposite message?

LaFontaine is a health-care worker and a proud part of the 53 percent of white women who helped elect Trump. But still — she feels so fearful to talk about her political viewpoints that she hesitated to use her name for this interview. If she mentions her support of the candidate, she is "shouted down," ostracized and victimized, she said.

What is so wrong with supporting a candidate who understands the economy, she asks, or being happy with his promise to repeal Obamacare?

"Insurance is not health care," she said. "I'm a fan of free market. It is government interference that has exponentially raised health-care costs in the last 30 years."

The language Trump's critics call sexist is similar to how she hears her husband talk with friends, LaFontaine said. It's bravado, she said, and it's nothing compared to the way "SJWs" — or social justice warriors — have been treating her.

Unity and understanding will be essential to progress, said Peg Langhammer, executive director at Day One — an agency organized to address sexual assault and abuse.

All of these feelings are "completely valid and completely normal" after such a vicious election cycle, she said.

It's important for women to talk to one another and do things that make them feel good about themselves, Langhammer said, adding that her center is available for anyone, particularly survivors of sexual assault, who is struggling.

Ramona Santos said above everything else, she's disappointed with the lack of empathy she sees around her.

"Telling us we're being paranoid, dramatic, or that nothing's going to happen is not helpful," she said. "No one has the right to tell me how I'm supposed to be feeling."

— jtempera@providencejournal.com

(401) 277-7121

On Twitter: @jacktemp

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