The 2016 election concluded last night in what was a surprise to people around the globe, with media mogul Donald Trump winning the Presidency over longtime politician Hillary Clinton. The breakdown of voter demographics was largely expected—with Clinton holding the minority vote while Trump subsisted largely on uneducated whites of both genders.

One subtle recent voter trend, however, became startlingly obvious as last night’s returns rolled in. The racial and geographic divides between the two candidates was well documented, but less prominent in projections of voter splits was the age difference between the two candidates’ constituencies.

Clinton won 54% of voters ages 18-29 to Trump’s 37%. This number, though seemingly middling, is high in light of the popular third-party options which drew ballots away from both candidates this year. Those aged 65 or over, however, voted oppositely: 54% for Trump and 43% for Clinton.

Understanding what the age breakdown means for our nation requires understanding the priorities of each age group. Younger voters are more concerned with expanding civil liberties, with scientific discovery and the environment, and with future stability. Older voters, however, are traditionally focused on maintaining the status quo and on preserving traditional morality.

What does that say, then, about the virtues that each candidate brings to the table? Voters of the younger generation—the ones who have the longest future ahead of them and who thus have the greatest stake in the future as opposed to the present—favor Clinton’s stances on increasing opportunity, protecting civil freedoms, and sustainable environmentalism. Older voters, however, cast their ballots for Trump in an attempt to maintain the status quo—one which promotes inequities between demographic groups and which preserves traditional ‘Americanism’ over looking to a more equal future.

Donald Trump’s policy messaging has been inconsistent since the beginnings of his Presidential run. His campaign slogan—the infamous ‘Make America Great Again’—and the symbolism behind it, however, has constantly propelled voters to his rallies, and yesterday, to the polls. ‘Make America Great Again,’ at first, seems to refer to a quintessential American idealism that we associate with the likes of Reagan or even Roosevelt. A closer look, however, reveals that the ‘greatness’ Trump and his supporters seek is one grounded in past biases and minority oppression. It is a sad sign of the times when America’s elderly seems so on board with such messaging.