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It was 2:00 am on Wednesday, when Election Day had just ended. President Trump is speaking from the White House, claiming that he won and arguing that there is fraud in the electoral process.
Dan Hensley has been a longtime Republican, but has decided to back former Vice President Joe Biden. He is home alone and watches the election on television, listening to President Trump declare victory even though millions of votes are still out of control.
Hensley got up from his favorite living room chair, turned off the television, and fell asleep, feeling more divided than ever. As a small business owner, he has always voted for the Republican Party since 1976. But in 2016 he decided not to elect either candidate. Three weeks ago, he, his wife, and their two children elected Mr. Biden.
On November 4, uncertainty, discomfort and fear begin. Unlike usual, a large number of votes have not yet been counted and the races are not over. But one thing was clear: Trump couldn’t prove the polls wrong with a resounding victory from a “silent crowd.” And the Democrats cannot defeat the opponent quickly.
That means that the two sides will continue to dispute in the coming days. Many voters from both parties suddenly realized that they may have misunderstood the United States, their city, or even their neighbors.
“To be honest, I woke up feeling restless and drained,” said Marbili Walters, 37, a Trump supporter who has spent the past two weeks knocking on doors in St. Petersburg. Petersburg, Florida, convinces them to change their minds.
On the afternoon of November 4, in Brownsville, Texas, Tony Villalobos (44) was having lunch with a colleague. He supports Biden, whom he believes best reflects state values and has predicted that the Democratic candidate will have a resounding victory. But in the end it didn’t happen. Worse still, Trump has received support from people Villalobos knows very well. “My friends and my family have more and more people voting for Trump.”
There are many people who think that the majority, even those who still have opposing views with them, silently agree with them on the direction of the United States. But so far the results of the vote count do not prove it. And now the question is: “What’s next?”
Among the most talked about is the perspective of violence in the streets. But when asked what would trigger that, most quickly responded to the other side. Nicholas Lubischer (60) said: “If Mr. Trump wins, there will still be violence. One thing that has not changed is the divisions within the United States.”
This statement seems too pessimistic when Lubischer is a Trump supporter. Initially he believed that Trump would win, then he was surprised by the dramatic development of the race and now he believes that Biden is the winner. In that case, violence could still erupt in the streets when the Democrats’ agenda is blocked by a Senate in the hands of the Senate.
For many people, it is not the division, but the source of the division that matters. That difference in value is too great to equalize or compromise. The election made people feel that the only way forward is to fight harder.
Terry Leap (45 years old) is not a fan of Mr. Biden because the former vice president’s health is not guaranteed and “he was corrupt.” But he also doesn’t like Mr. Trump because of his “demagogic politics.” Therefore, Leap is out of place. Being quarantined due to Covid-19, he watched the elections only until 3 a.m. and then “went to bed feeling very dissatisfied.”
Check the New York Times
