The Presidential Election between Joe Biden and Donald Trump should have been a landslide.
Like most Americans, I have spent the last three days staring at the TV, mesmerized by Steve Korinacky’s expert analysis of this unprecedented election, while simultaneously refreshing Twitter, the AP results page, and the NYT results page. Before the first polling places closed on November 3rd, we knew it would take days before final results were announced due to the surge in absentee and mail-in votes and state laws restricting states from counting ballots before Election Day.
While Joe Biden has reached a historic number of votes in the popular vote, American’s still sit on the edge of their seats into Thursday evening, awaiting final results from Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, and Georgia. Even though the Road to 270 is narrowing for Trump and it appears that Biden will be the 46th President of the United States, I am still severely disheartened by the state of our nation that the election is this close.
Currently, Biden is winning the popular vote by a margin of 4 million votes, but the race in the Electoral College is still “too close to call.”
American democracy is founded on the values of equality, freedom, and “all men are created equal, and there shall be liberty and justice for all. Over the past four years, Trump has proven time and time again that he will not fight for the average American, despite rallying cult-level support from this group.
The past four years in America have been a blur of Trump breaking the law and denying the facts. From the opening days of his administration, Trump declared a Muslim Travel Ban. In the closing days of this presidential term, America battles the COVID-19 pandemic, which Trump has made no effort to contain.
On Election Night, Don Winslow tweeted, “It should not be this close. Not after caging children. Not after selling out our soldiers. Not after 230,000 dead. Not after four years of breaking every law on the books. It should not be this close.”
After four years of denying science, breaking laws, and spreading misinformation, the election should not be this close. I am deeply concerned that everything in Trump’s presidential record is seemingly not a deal-breaker for those who voted for his reelection. Exit polls show that “the economy” was a deciding factor for most Trump voters. It is difficult to grapple with the fact that 69 million voters have prioritized a potential economic benefit for themselves over their neighbors’ fundamental human rights. Imagining voters answering the question “what is the amount of money that will lead me to disregard my neighbors losing their fundamental rights?” is incredibly enraging.
This raises the question, what does this mean about American society? What does it mean that millions of Americans prioritize their bank accounts over their neighbors’ right to healthcare?
Mark Ruffalo addressed this question on Election Night, tweeting, “America is suffering a soul sickness. We have to understand the divisive and violent character of this nation. Repair and Heal the genocide and slavery that we are also founded upon. Give those things their proper place and honor so that we can become whole.”
MSNBC host, Joe Reid, tweeted, “Donald Trump once said he could “stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and he “wouldn’t lose any voters.” We now know he can also preside over the deaths of 240,000+ Americans and not lose any voters. Even if he loses, that’s a profound indictment on America.”
Donald Trump is an impeached president, with a constant record of spreading falsehoods and justifying white supremacist violence, yet this election is still coming down to razor-thin margins.
While we could blame the non-democratic nature of the electoral college, the more important question to ask is about American voters’ morality. Donald Trump’s “it is what it is” response to the 235,000 lives lost to the COVID-19 pandemic should have been enough to cause a landslide. It has been proven that GOP voters do not, and will not, consider how their vote can impact anyone other than themselves. When it comes to public health, racial inequality, and health care access, these are moral issues, not partisan ones. Biden’s tagline through this election cycle has been “battle for the soul of the nation,” and election results have amplified the truth of this statement.
Every American should be embarrassed that America portrays itself as a hegemonic power in the international community, fighting for equality and liberty abroad, but when provided the opportunity in the ballot box, they vote based on the interests of their pocketbooks rather than the human rights of their neighbors.
While we may not know the final election results, this election has revealed just how deep the divide is between red and blue America.