Following the 2016 US presidential election, schools reported an alarming level of fear and anxiety among students of color, increased racial and ethnic tensions in the classroom, and fear of deportation for immigrant youth. Collectively, this phenomenon has been termed "the Trump effect." In this study, we examined the details surrounding a specific incident of racial violence at a high school in a Northeast town to provide an emic perspective on this phenomenon. We examined how the events, school response, and vitriolic rhetoric and political discourse in the larger culture contributed to the racialized identities of students who were at the heart of the events.