Republican electoral party: “Donald Trump is good for America and the whole world”

Karen Wright arrives with his trike, Polaris Slingshot model with 170 HP, as he proudly says. The stars and stripes of the American flag are stamped on the hood of the trike, Trump decals are affixed to the fenders, and two banners with the name of the President of the United States are flying at the rear. “Trump-Trike” is what Wright calls his bubbly vehicle. He came to a Republican electoral party in West Palm Beach.

West Palm Beach is one of the oldest and richest cities in Florida. 100,000 people live here, you see villas, Bentleys, superyachts. A bridge crosses a lagoon to Mar-a-Lago, the famous property of Donald Trump. A year ago, the Republican gave up his New York residency and became a West Palm Beach citizen. And on this mild November 3, it seems the residents are thanking you.

Anyone strolling through town on Election Day will hear the familiar cries of Republicans everywhere: “Four more years” and “Trump, Trump, Trump.” You can see residents wearing MAGA (“Make America great again”) baseball caps and Trump t-shirts. Karen Wright has also dressed for the vote.

She elected Trump in 2016 when she faced Hillary Clinton, and now again. What made you do it? “Biden,” says Wright, “wants to forbid us to do everything.” If the Democrat wins, he says, Americans will be disenfranchised. “So they are no longer allowed to own guns and they no longer go to church.” That should be avoided.

Wright is one of millions in her state who voted for Trump. Florida is probably one of the swing states the most between red and blue, between Republicans and Democrats. Everything is here.

Urban centers like Miami and Orlando, where most of the Democrats live. Retirees from the “rust belt,” the former industrial region of the northeastern United States, where many Trump supporters live. And a large Hispanic population that both parties are fighting for.

Four years ago, Trump narrowly took Florida, one percentage point ahead of Clinton. This time you win again and you can even extend your lead. After counting nearly all the votes, Trump got about 51 percent, Biden just 48 percent. What happened?

One reason may be that Trump won the battle for the Hispanic population. Democrats were slow to woo Latinos, while Republicans began their campaign. They mistakenly portrayed Biden as a radical socialist, possibly Trump won many votes from immigrants from Cuba. Polls show that more and more of them have recently supported Republicans.

Biden relied primarily on Florida seniors. He promised them that he would fight Corona better than Trump, who for a long time denied the virus and later said it would just “miraculously” disappear. Has the message reached the elderly, the largest corona risk group?

“Trump defeated the China virus”

At least not with Gill Dalton. “Trump,” said the 74-year-old man in the Republican electoral party in West Palm Beach, “did everything he could to defeat the China virus.” China virus – that’s also the term Trump has always used again when talking about Corona. “Without Trump, many more people would have died in our country,” says Dalton. The president is getting drug companies to quickly develop a vaccine. “Biden, on the other hand, just talks,” says Dalton, “and does nothing.”

The atmosphere at the electoral party is exuberant. More than 300 Republicans are sitting in a hotel conference room, a band plays country music, and there are cheeseburgers. Next to the group are two large screens, on which Fox News, the station that often celebrates Trump, plays silently. A large portrait of Trump hangs on the wall, with a life-size cardboard cutout of Mike Pence in front of him. Throughout the night, visitors take selfies with the president and his deputy.

At the beginning of the night, many were briefly tense here. Ohio, in particular, worried the audience. The state was blue on the Fox News map for a long time, with Biden initially at the helm. Probably because only the votes of postal voters, which Democrats traditionally benefit from, were counted there. Republicans tend to put their crosses in place on Election Day.

But around 10 pm the map changes color: from blue to red. Ohio goes to the Republicans. “We brought Ohio,” says a host into his microphone. “At first we did not think well because of the fearful Democrats who voted by letter.” The man pauses. “But we are Republicans,” he yells, “and the Republicans are voting on Election Day!” The audience cheers, yells and waves the Trump banner.

Karen Wright also participates. “I’m so happy,” she says. “Our president is good for the United States and the entire world.” Wright praises Trump’s tough immigration policy, keeps the “mob” out. “With Biden, on the other hand,” he says, “our country would soon run out of borders.” Wright also believes that Trump has a good foreign policy. “He ends the wars in the Middle East, so he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.”

At the election party in West Palm Beach there is still a lot of cheering that night. More and more states on the screen are turning red, that is, Republicans. Around one o’clock, many Trump supporters drive home, firmly believing that their Donald Trump has done it again.