It’s over, but people still have plenty to say about election

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Addison Keeley, Lamp writer

Along with a possible 46th president, the United States has gained another thing at the hands of the 2020 presidential election results — a long-lasting and trending topic.

Even though the presidential election of 2020 has ended almost a month ago, lots of people are still vocal about their thoughts on the results. With the coronavirus pandemic still in effect, the election was largely reliant on mail-in votes this year. This produced an immense amount of suspense, as United States citizens had to wait an entire three days for a winner to be declared. Before, during, and after the election took place, supporters of both political parties have had a mouthful to say, whether in defense of their supported candidate or as mere criticism towards the opposed party.

The Black community has been very critical on Donald Trump’s views and contributions towards Black people as well as other minorities.

“A former friend of mine was a Black Republican and a big Trump supporter. A lot of the times he would try to make me support Trump, but was unsuccessful,” says Kimberly Brock of Los Angeles. “During the ‘uprising’ that took place after George Floyd was killed by police, my friend and his uncle were on the way to Target before the bus had to take a detour and stop early. When they got off, they were let off into a crowd of people doing dumb stuff, and someone happened to knock his uncle down and cause him to have to go to the emergency room. Why I say this is because me and this guy had different views on ‘the uprising.’ I felt like it was necessary to get the attention of our leadership, and he just felt like the people involved were rioters, looters, and Black people destroying their own communities. He had kept harassing me about the situation, so I told him we can have a difference in opinion, but I was done talking to him about it.”

Brock said when her friend had blamed “people like her” for her uncle’s injury, she had told him that they were no longer going to be in contact.

“That is my most potent experience when dealing with a Trump supporter as someone who is largely Democratic. I find them (Trump supporters) to be very pushy and cult-like. At the time that the election results were announced, I was happy about Biden winning, but it was bittersweet,” Brock said. “Trump’s presidential term showed me that there is two Americas – one side where people advocate for progress and another that wants to keep society as a white, utopian America. I was not keen on Joe for his comment on the Black community that suggests they really are not Black if they don’t vote for him, but I did not feel anger from it. I was not sure if he had it in him to go head to head with Trump, but I did remember that he showed great debating skills as vice president against Paul Ryan.”

Even though Biden is not officially president, Brock states that she believes he will remain the president elect.

“I think Trump is trying to stay in office to avoid any legal issues that he has such as his pending cases in New York,” Brocks said. “When Biden won the election, five (Republican) states turned blue, and there is no way that could have happened illegally.”

Brent Wells of Chicago said he didn’t think Trump or his supporters would accept the results no matter what had happened.

“There were not a lot of experiences that led to me voting for Biden because I tend to vote more progressive and I put my money on Elizabeth Warren, but unfortunately we know how that went,” Wells said. “At that point I didn’t really care who the Democrats put up because I’ve said many times on my own social media platforms that the Democrats could put up an ear of corn and a leaf of lettuce. and I would still vote for them because for the past four years. The United States not only lack of leadership, but it has gotten to the point where the country has lost respect on the world stage.”

The Hispanic community has been perhaps the biggest critic of Trump and his supporters particularly due to his controversial views on immigration, including his notorious idea of building a wall at the border.

“Well to be honest I was shocked about the results,” says Junior Pena of Armona. “I was sure Trump was going to win because he has a huge following. They were supposedly the ‘silent majority,’ but it turns out the Democrats really were as they came out in record breaking numbers,”

Pena said he voted for Biden because he stood up for workers, supporting 12 weeks of paid medical leave, and believes in science

But Pena stated: “The main reason he has my support is because he promises to protect and support DACA and its DREAMers. I have friends that were brought here as babies and grew up here who the Trump administration threatened to be deport back to their “home countries.”

The United States is their home, Pena said. They grew up here, work here, and go to school here. They now do not have to worry about the day that they will be deported.

Pena then emphasized: “People say, “just do it the right way, but what people do not understand is that the process of becoming a United States citizen can take up to 20 years.”

As expected, the Republican party and Trump supporters are very vocal about Trump losing the election as well as Biden winning it.

“It’s not over, and this has been a weird election because people underestimate the intelligence of the public and it’s fraudulent because this guy (Biden) is not getting more votes than Obama,” says Tony Usawa of Brooklyn.  “He would be the most popular president of all time if these numbers were to be believed.”

“First of all, being Black and a Democrat is just such a stereotype, and I got to see what it’s like to not being under their regime,” Usawa says.

Despite opposing the idea of being Black and a Democrat simultaneously, Usawa was critical of the Republican party as well.

“On a personal level, I do not share any of their core beliefs and socially they are annoying,” he said.

When detailing why he supported Trump, Usawa says, “I always told myself that the first non-politician to be elected would make changes, and it is clear to me that Trump is not a politician. When someone has enemies on both sides, you have to look at them and say ‘Maybe this guy can be a weapon against some very destructive things that are occurring down the pike.’ I took a chance, and I am happy with the chance that I took. The other side was pure corruption at every turn, so I could not continue to support them, so this was a better financial and spiritual decision.”

Despite the presidential election taking place in the United States, countries from across the globe had also been keeping up with it and were vocal about the results. One cannot be surprised about this due to the United States being one of the most powerful countries in the world.

“I actually do not hate Biden, but I despise left-wing socialist politics,” notes Craig Ward of England. “Supporting Trump and the GOP is something I have done for years because one, I have a fascination with your country (the United States). Two, American politics always affect the world and have affected the United Kingdom in a massive way.”

Ward says England left the European Nation and needs the support of the United States.

“Trump is all for this and has regularly worked hard with us over here,” Ward said. “Biden has said numerous times he is not interested in striking deals with anyone, and that is worrying.”

While believing that his country’s ties to the United States will not be horrendous under the Presidency of Biden, Ward firmly believes that they would be better under the GOP in terms of trading and deal-making.

“Like I said, I believe that the economy will suffer under a Democratic lead,” he says. “History tells you that socialism is a bad thing when it comes to[the] economy and the state of a nation. With the United States being the most powerful nation in the world, whatever happens over there creates a ripple effect across the world, especially in the United Kingdom.”