Trump, Social Cohesion and the Treaty Principles Bill - my immediate and personal reflections

What.Is.Happening?

Yesterday, I found myself at the American Ambassador's Election Day viewing party in Lower Hutt, New Zealand. There, standing in a room that buzzed with the presence of diplomats, journalists, politicians, and academics—around 180 to 200 people in total—I wasn’t thinking too deeply about the election itself. Instead, I was just trying to take in the moment: a whirlwind of faces I hadn’t seen in a long time, a mix of old friends and unexpected encounters, I was excited and distracted from what was about to happen.

Amongst the guests were people like Gerry Brownlee - Speaker of the House of Representatives in New Zealand, his Excellency Mr Alfredo Rogelio Perez Bravo, -Mexican ambassador, former MPs Andrew Little, a handful of journalists like Ethan Manera from from NewsTalk and political reporter Maiki Sherman, and old acquaintances like Stephen Korn, Chief Executive of Callaghan Innovations, and Jessica Mannings, who runs a gaming and VR company who I’ve know for over 10 years but hadn’t seen in ages. I ended up spending most of my time with Dr. Claire Timperley, my political theory professor from Victoria University talking about politics, university culture and our life’s. It was great!

Amid the excitement of being there, the buzz and the chatter, I started noticing the election updates quietly running in the screens around the Ambassadors house, and I remember thinking, ‘wow, those states are flipping red faster than I thought they would’. It was surreal, trying to balance meaningful conversations with the heavy knowledge that Trump was likely on his way to a very expected win, but very unexpected landslide.

I’d always known this was possible, maybe even probable, but it still felt unreal. Even the most seasoned political observers around me seemed genuinely blindsided by the speed at which Trump won.

I am not an expert in American politics or electoral dynamics. But what I do know—what I’ve always cared deeply about—is social cohesion. And here, right in front of me, was a stark reminder of something I’ve been trying to explain and why I am doing my PhD on this topic. This moment, this unity of people backing a single outcome, showed me a side of cohesion that I know we constantly overlook, and it is at our peril to keep doing so.

The United States, driven by a collective force, a society so cohesive, so potent that it’s capable of producing deeply unsettling outcomes. What happens when high levels of trust, solidarity, and belonging lead to high-stakes, high-risk and highly dangerous consequences? We get social cohesion for bad outcomes. This matters to me, becase as long as we keep thinking that social cohesion is this romantic notion of an ideal unified and fair society, we will keep fueling the fire for a social cohesion that drives fear, hate and violence.

Just two days ago, I read an article about how groups like the Proud Boys have gained outrages levels of traction online, organizing with a cohesion and intensity that’s undeniably powerful. They’re a vivid example of how unity and belonging can lead to something profoundly destabilizing. When a group aligns around a shared, intensely felt purpose, even if it’s towards volatile ends, that’s social cohesion in its own form—a type of unity that I believe we misunderstand, ignore and underestimate and it is at our own demise to keep doing that.

Then, while I am processing what is happening in USA, driving back from Lower Hutt back home, I hear on the radio an announcement on the Treaty Principles Bill, a move that caught me completely off guard. It’s not my usual instinct to jump to conclusions, but the timing feels anything but coincidental. The American election was already consuming my mind and emotions, so when news of the Treaty Principles Bill came out, I simply couldn’t process it fully. It felt cynical, as though someone banked on us being too distracted to notice, a move that feels calculated in a way that’s hard to ignore.

And then, of course, there’s me. Watching all of this unfold as a Mexican woman first, before anything else. This identity—the core of who I am—adds a complex layer to my experience of these events. What’s happening politically in both Mexico and the U.S. this year feels like a wound that gets wider and rawer, with consequences that shake me to my bones. But here I am, physically and emotionally distanced, with the privilege of being a New Zealand citizen, a student, someone educated in political science. This distance gives me room to breathe, room to analyze. But it doesn’t erase the helplessness I feel for my country, my people, my gender.

So, for anyone reading this who feels the same despair, the same mix of confusion and anxiety—I see you. These reflections aren’t carefully researched analyses or polished insights. They’re simply my raw, honest reactions to a moment that’s still unfolding. If this helps anyone feel less alone, less adrift in the chaos, then I’m grateful.