The 5th of November, Bonfire Night, marked the most anticipated American presidential election in recent history, with the two main candidates, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, representing drastically different visions for America’s future. 

The former was closely aligned with “Project 2025”, a set of ultra-conservative policy proposals that include disbanding the Department for Education, deploying the military on the US-Mexico border and overhauling the Justice Department to suit his political leanings. 

Harris, however, has run on less radical terms, emphasising the need for a more stable America through policies like building three million affordable homes, and re-codifying abortion rights into the legal system. 

The atmosphere in Bar One beforehand was “nauseous optimism”, according to Politics student Bill Baines. He feared Trump’s hostility towards NATO would leave the UK under-protected, saying he didn’t want Europe to be “a colony of America.” 

As polls closed at 00:00 GMT, the crowd reacted to each projected result. The loudest initial cheers were for a clear Harris victory in Vermont, with South Carolina, Virginia and Georgia being too early to project. 

The night rolled on. In each gap between polls, people began to lose spirit, with some students preferring to sample Bar One’s menu of election-themed food and drinks. Those still watching, however, would have noticed an influx of confirmed Trump wins, as well as many states remaining deadlocked. Students were bracing themselves for a much tighter race than expected. aAt 4:18am, North Carolina was called for Trump. It was the first swing state result, and by that point, the other six were forecast to lean Republican. 

Jamie Coley, a first-year, concentrated on the Associated Press prediction page, saying his early optimism had “slowly been chipped away”. 

The next morning, Mr. Trump won Pennsylvania, the most important state for either candidate. Trump needed only three more seats to secure the 270 needed to win, which came from Wisconsin that afternoon. After Trump’s win was confirmed, some were still struggling to believe the result. One American student worried for her family back in Florida. She felt it was the university’s “duty” to provide protection for students who felt unsafe returning home. 

When reached for comment, a university spokesperson stated that they, “encourage any students who need any support to seek help via our year-round wellbeing provisions”. 

Still, students were worried about the implications for the UK. As the economy flatlines, increased tariffs by Trump’s administration may deal a blow to UK-US trade, and deepen the cost of living crisis. I caught up with Mr. Baines, who expressed his disappointment, but added that, “hopefully, this is an opportunity” for the UK to strengthen its self-reliance.

However, not all is lost: according to ICEF, there was a huge uptick in American university applicants seeking destinations outside of the US, and “in particular, more US students are exploring study in the UK”. In the current shortfall, this potential influx in international students could provide a much-needed boost in funding.