Donald J. Trump is now my president.

I did not vote for him in the primaries.

I did not support him during his campaign.

I did not vote for him during the general election.

On January 20, 2017 during a peaceful transition of power that has a long and storied history here in the United States, he became my president. He will be my president for the next four years. That’s how it is. No amount of protests can change who Donald Trump is and I do not think they should for a multitude of reasons.

Donald Trump won because of the Electoral College. He won because of a system that was put in place long ago by people who were much smarter than I am and had lived through a time of political upheaval I cannot imagine. He legally won based on everything we know to be right and true in this country about government; our constitution. If that system can be cheated in order to put someone in power we feel to be more qualified, that system can be cheated to put someone in power that is less qualified. I feel that to be an ominous and dangerous precedent not at all worth exploring.

President Trump well and truly won the presidency and I fervently hope with every ounce of my being he will be one of our greatest presidents. He is now the leader of this country and his success is our success. If he is successful in solving our health care crisis, creating jobs, and solving immigration, then I will waste no time congratulating him on a job well done. We need all of those problems to be solved and I hope he can solve them for all of us.

More importantly, President Trump is but one of 45 men that have held the office of the President of the United States. Each one has brought with them their own personal stamp to the Oval Office. It’s not just President Trump that deserves our respect, it is also the people who have walked before him and have given their lives to serve our country. Not only do these men who were elected by their fellow citizens deserve our respect, but also their families who did not choose the life of public service. The Office of the President is special and all those who bear its seal deserve to be treated with the respect it is due, regardless of party affiliation or personal agendas.

Donald Trump is the President of the United States and as such, he has my utmost respect, my best wishes, and my prayers for a job well done. This does not mean I will not continue to seek justice or that I will not continue to speak truth to power when necessary. I will to the best of my ability. However, I will not delegitimize President Trump or the station he holds in the process.