As the creator of The West Wing and writer of The American President and A Few Good Men, Aaron Sorkin knows a thing or two about the drama of politics.
But like most of us, Sorkin would prefer that his presidents bring him to tears by falling in love with Annette Bening, and not by promising to deport 13 million people.
Earlier today, Vanity Fair published a moving open letter that the beloved showrunner and screenwriter wrote to his wife and teenage daughter in the wake of Donald Trump’s presidential election.
“America didn’t stop being America last night and we didn’t stop being Americans and here’s the thing about Americans: Our darkest days have always — always — been followed by our finest hours,” Sorkin wrote in the letter, which you can read in full here.
He went on to offer words of encouragement and hope, as well as a reminder that those who are feeling outraged and frightened by the election of Trump must lean on one another for support:
“First of all, we remember that we’re not alone.
“A hundred million people in America and a billion more around the world feel exactly the same way we do. … We’ll f–king fight. (Roxy, there’s a time for this kind of language and it’s now.) We’re not powerless and we’re not voiceless.”
While his overall tone was optimistic, Sorkin didn’t mince words when it came to describing the support base that allowed Trump to be elected, writing:
“And it wasn’t just Donald Trump who won last night—it was his supporters too. The Klan won last night. White nationalists. Sexists, racists and buffoons.”
“Angry young white men who think rap music and Cinco de Mayo are a threat to their way of life (or are the reason for their way of life) have been given cause to celebrate.
“Men who have no right to call themselves that and who think that women who aspire to more than looking hot are shrill, ugly, and otherwise worthy of our scorn rather than our admiration struck a blow for misogynistic sh-theads everywhere.
“Hate was given hope.”
He concluded by reminding his daughter that “the battle isn’t over, it’s just begun.”
“Grandpa fought in World War II and when he came home this country handed him an opportunity to make a great life for his family,” Sorkin wrote.
“I will not hand his granddaughter a country shaped by hateful and stupid men. Your tears last night woke me up, and I’ll never go to sleep on you again.”
Many had hoped that after Trump’s election, he would apologize for the more inflammatory and bigoted statements he made during his campaign and do his best to ease tensions among the increasingly divided segments of the American population.
He has yet to do so.