This post was updated Nov. 24 at 7:34 p.m.

America has reelected Donald Trump as the president of the United States, welcoming its slide toward fascism with open arms.

Unlike the last two elections, this time, the majority of American voters – well aware that he is a racist, misogynist and liar – have chosen Trump to lead the most powerful nation in the world.

Trump is a businessman with multiple bankruptcies, financial and moral; a man who has been held liable for sexual abuse; a felon convicted of falsifying business records who faces three more indictments; a president who has been impeached twice; and the instigator of a deadly insurrection at the Capitol that tried to overturn a free and fair election. This is our next president.

It is well within reason to equate Trump’s rhetoric and behavior with that of a leader who seeks to dismantle democratic norms and consolidate power in an authoritarian manner. After he irrefutably lost the 2020 election, Trump directly threatened Brad Raffensperger, pressuring the Georgia secretary of state to “find 11,780 votes.”

Days later, on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump declared, “Make no mistake, this election was stolen from you, from me and from the country,” to his crowd of supporters who would storm the Capitol directly afterward.

Recently, Trump made a tactless quip to House Republicans hinting at his desire to remain in power beyond two terms: “I suspect I won’t be running again, unless you do something. … Unless you say, ‘He’s so good, we have to just figure it out.’”

Meanwhile, the president-elect is reportedly considering forcing Congress into a recess to bypass Senate confirmation for his controversial administration picks.

Over the past eight years, Trump has been unapologetically clear about what type of leader he is – one who prioritizes his ego above the American people and appears determined to hold the country hostage to his will.

Yet voters chose this man over Kamala Harris, the highly qualified candidate who decisively outperformed Trump during their debate and offered a forward-thinking vision that stood in stark contrast to the former president’s “concepts of a plan.” Why?

We could point to a number of factors – namely, Harris’ late jump into the race, her campaign’s inability to connect with undecided voters, and the question of whether the nation was ready for a Black and Indian woman as president – but ultimately none of these capture the core reason as to why so many Americans welcomed back a president who blatantly threatens the foundations of our democracy for his personal gain.

Simply put, a number of American voters let Trump swindle them with false promises and fearmongering. They let him exploit their anxieties, buying into his rhetoric of quick fixes and believing that he was the savior of a nation ostensibly headed toward collapse. And Trump’s campaign intentionally preyed on those easily swayed by misinformation in a strategy that ultimately propelled him back into the White House.

This election, Trump won an even larger number of voters without a college degree than he did in 2020. While a college degree is not a necessity for navigating each candidate’s political messaging, Trump specifically targets Americans who feel disconnected from the elitism of Washington and posits himself as a so-called “common man” – despite being part of the elite himself.

And because of this voter base that the Republican Party has cultivated and aims to keep, we should be extremely worried about the state of American education over the next four years.

As we’ve seen since before the start of the campaign season, the Republican Party has already waged a war on education.

Even Donald Trump’s controversial nominees for his administration exhibit an emphasis on rejecting educational and scientific principles that have long been accepted by our modern society. Trump’s top officials so far include those who reject climate change, evolution, vaccines, homosexuality, critical race theory education and the separation of church and state – just a few examples of the dangerous anti-education ideologies shaping his administration. These are our nation’s future leaders, and these ideologies are indicative of the country they aim to build.

But what is perhaps just as worrying is the Republican Party’s consistent attacks on educational institutions. The party has characterized higher education institutions as hubs of “left-wing indoctrination,” advocated for increased religion in public schools – which could constitute a direct violation of students’ First Amendment rights – and recently even pushed the unfounded and bizarre claim that children are getting transgender surgeries during the school day as a way to demonize progressive curriculums.

Furthermore, in October 2023, Trump vowed to dismantle the Department of Education as president – falsely claiming the agency was “indoctrinating young people with inappropriate racial, sexual and political material.”

Trump’s incoming White House press secretary affirmed the president-elect’s intentions last week, saying he will enact those promises he made. With the end of the Department of Education, there will be fewer investigations into the violations of students’ civil rights, funds for students facing poverty and data on the efficacy of public education across the country – a dire regression in the American education system.

Right now, a good education is a privilege. But with these policies, Donald Trump and the Republican Party are trying to make it a rarity.

Those attempting to fight Trump’s regime must prioritize the delivery of a proper public education to the young people of our nation. It has always been a struggle to provide the education Americans deserve, but it is simply a necessity if we want to counter the rise of fascist ideals in this country.

These next four years will be a critical time for preserving democracy. Along with states prioritizing education, it is up to Republican lawmakers to stand up to Trump in Congress. It is up to the Democratic Party to develop a campaign that serves working-class communities.

But, perhaps above all, it is up to the American people to right this wrong and together push back against the authoritarian ideals that Trump brings to our nation.

That is our patriotic duty.