Harvard Republicans Cheer Donald Trump at Election Watch Party

The Harvard Republican Club and the Institute of Politics Conservative Coalition hosted a boisterous election night watch party at the Cambridge Queen’s Head Pub on Thursday night, cheering on former President Donald Trump as a Fox News live stream provided attendees with the latest election results.

The watch party, which was located one floor below the official election night watch party sponsored by the Dean of Students Office at Sanders Theater, provided a more intimate gathering for roughly 300 people who were largely Republicans.

Michael Oved ’25, the president of both the Harvard Republican Club and the Conservative Coalition, said that the event provided a space for conservatives and Republicans at Harvard to come together.

“It really is buzzing with energy,” Oved said. “There’s a lot of students who are just really excited to meet other Republicans, other conservatives.”

Robert J. Oswald, a current student at the Harvard Kennedy School, expressed his appreciation for the space that the watch party provided considering that most students at Harvard tend to support Democrats.

“It’s not unknown that most people lean left, at the very least,” Oswald said. “So the fact that this is a smaller get-together, I think, is rather obvious.”

As Trump took an early lead over Harris, Oved expressed optimism about the former president’s chances for winning back the White House.

“We’re gonna know that Trump is our next president by midnight tonight,” Oved told attendees, drawing cheers from the crowd.

As results rolled in, the room’s reactions ranged from cheers accompanying Trump’s victories like that in Texas, while the announcement of Harris’ wins were met with passionate boos.

Oved closely followed the projected outcome of the election by the New York Times alongside his own speculations, announcing updates periodically.

According to Oved, the Harvard Republican Club had been “dead” since 2016, but was revived over the past year with an increase in club events including talks with government officials.

Many attendees expressed the importance of engaging in dialogue with one another, especially amidst the current election.

“I’ve had a lot of productive conversations on all things political and cultural, with people who disagree with me politically, and it’s been very productive and civil,” Oswald said. “And, you know, it’s even created a good friendship between us.”

Susan Hutchinson, the former First Lady of Arkansas, was also present at the event and encouraged dialogue between people with different political views.

“I hope we talk to each other with open ears, to really try to understand each other and see where people are coming from and what their lives and experiences are that has them thinking a certain way or approaching things a certain way,” Hutchinson said.

However, Oved acknowledged that not everyone was eager to engage in dialogue on Tuesday. After delivering brief remarks at the larger watch party in Sanders Theater, Oved returned to the conservative watch party to tell attendees that he had received a chilly reception.

“I went upstairs, I went on the stage and I told them, ‘Guys, I’m president of the Harvard Republican Club’ — the whole place starts booing me,” Oved said. “And then I tell them that Trump is gonna win and he’s gonna beat them, and they didn’t applaud.”

“I left the stage with that,” he added.

As the event ended, volunteers cleaned Queen’s Head while quick passerby and attendees took turns taking photos with a flag that displayed a photo of Trump at the campaign rally where he was shot in the ear in an assassination attempt.

Oved closed the event with even more optimism.

“Let’s get excited for another four years of President Donald Trump,” he said.