Tears of joy, sorrow after news breaks of Biden win
Trump supporters still defiant as race called for Democrat
As soon as the news buzzed on their phones, Americans gathered spontaneously on street corners and front lawns — honking their horns, banging pots and pans, starting impromptu dance parties — as an agonizingly vitriolic election and exhausting fourday wait for results came to an end Saturday morning.
But for all that joy, there were equal parts sorrow, anger and mistrust on the other side.
Across the country, the dramatic conclusion of the 2020 election was cathartic.
Just after news organizations declared that former Vice President Joe Biden beat President Donald Trump, fireworks erupted in Atlanta. In Maine, a band playing at a farmers’ market broke into the Battle Hymn of the Republic.
People waved Biden signs from balconies and banged pots and pans. A pickup drove around Washington with a band playing in the bed. In Manhattan, they danced in the streets, banged cowbells and honked their car horns. In Louisville, Kentucky, Biden supporters gathered on their lawns to toast with champagne.
Trump’s supporters have for days been protesting outside of ballot-counting operations, alleging without evidence that the slowmoving results were proof of cheating.
“This isn’t over! This isn’t over! Fake news!” some of Trump’s supporters shouted as they gathered at the Georgia State Capitol after news organizations’ decision to call the election.
No violence was reported, although at one point, police moved to separate Trump opponents from his supporters.
Georgia, which hasn’t gone for a Democrat since 1992, was on the cusp of swinging into Biden’s corner
But across America on Saturday morning, it was mostly the Democrats taking to the streets in jubilant displays, celebrating what was to them an end to four years of constant crises, chaos and anxiety.
In the nation’s capital, t housands of people streamed into Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House, waving sings and taking cellphone photos.
In Brooklyn, t hey chanted “the nightmare is over.”
“It’s surreal, I feel like I’m free from the clutches of evil,” said Lola Faleit, 26, a human resources manager in New York City. “I feel less worried for my immigrant friends. In 2016, we woke up crying. Today we are celebrating. Look, the sky is clear blue, the sun is out, Mother Nature is celebrating too.”
Retired teacher and school principal Kay Nicholas, 73, was vacuuming in her home northwest of Detroit when she heard Biden had been declared the winner.
“All I could say is ‘thank God,’ ” she said. “It has nothing to do with Democrat or Republican. It has to do with decency. This country has got integrity and hopefully we can get decency. I think Joe Biden can do it and bring back kindness.”
But Trump’s supporters, far from jubilant, were angry, defiant and mistrustful of the news.
Some 75 Trump-supporting protesters had gathered Saturday outside the election tabulation center in downtown Phoenix, where the counting remains underway.
Shortly after the news broke, Jake Angeli yelled, “This election has not been called!”
Angeli, a regular at proTrump rallies, shouted “Don’t believe that lie! They got their hands caught in the cookie jar and we’re going to the Supreme Court!
“Trump always looks like he’s going to lose. And then he wins, “Angeli said.
As Biden pulled ahead this week as officials in
critical battleground states continued counting the unprecedented number of absentee ballots, Trump angrily alleged with no evidence that the election was rigged against him, questioning the vote counting process and trying to cast doubt on the results.
Many of his supporters said that they continue to hold out hope.
“I don’t believe the race
is over as yet,” said Paul Petrillo, of Yardley, Pennsylvania.
He believes the Supreme Court should intervene. “We’ll see what happens.”
And there was at least one scene that could portend what is to come. In Lansing, Michigan, a group of about 50 Trump supporters and a smaller group of marchers carrying Black Lives Matter flags con
verged on the Michigan State Capitol where they pushed, shoved and shouted at one another in a tense standoff. But within moments of the race being called, a few from both sides broke into prayers and at least one pair hugged.
Still, tensions flared up again when Trump supporters arrived and BLM members retreated through the growing crowd.