“It’s bitter within the mouth, the racial and gender dimension of this.” This was Van Jones, the CNN political analyst and a Black American, talking at 3.10am EST the night time of the US election. To his proper, David Axelrod, the previous senior adviser to Barack Obama, maintained what within the circumstances appeared like a supernatural composure, as if by sheer civility he may put this proper. The CNN anchors, 14 hours into their marathon shift, have been deep into that adrenalised territory the place no human sentiment survives. Jones appeared as if he was going cry.
I had woken at 4.30am GMT, glanced on the blizzard of messages stacked up on my cellphone, and had the thought that for so long as I didn’t know what had occurred, nothing had occurred in any respect. Isn’t this a primary philosophical precept? The night time earlier than, issues had appeared good. Previously two weeks of the election Trump had appeared, even by his requirements, to have gone fully off the beam. The shock ballot in Iowa had augured a preferred swing from the fitting in direction of Harris. Males, who help Trump in bigger numbers than ladies, can generally be relied upon to skip voting.
In New York, a metropolis I left this summer season after 17 years, the only Trump enclave of Staten Island had proven indicators of a shift when the borough’s native newspaper, the Staten Island Advance, endorsed Harris. All of which pointed in a single joyful course. At 5am, I checked out my cellphone and noticed the highest message, despatched 5 hours earlier from a good friend in Lengthy Island. “We’re going to lose. Fucking insane.” And so it started.
Information of Trump’s victory was inconceivable to soak up, notably in entrance of kids. As they obtained up and blamelessly ate their breakfast, Trump was making his victory speech in Florida. He stated of Elon Musk “a star is born”. He flapped on in regards to the border. He beamed. It took each shred of self-restraint to not say out loud the bitter profanity flying backwards and forwards on our telephones, and merely to spit “go to hell” on the TV.
Additionally: “God, I hate males.” This was the start of a blame spiral that can take a very long time to play out. A good friend on layover at San Francisco airport despatched images of a gaggle of males, and a single lady, high-fiving one another on the gate. It was noticeable on the information panels how keen the white male company have been to explain Trump’s success purely in financial phrases. Individuals had extra money throughout his time in workplace and whether or not or not Trump had something to do with it, Individuals had voted for him on the power of the affiliation.
This was superb and true, up to some extent. Nevertheless it additionally denied a primary actuality: that American males couldn’t carry themselves to vote for a girl. Latino males flocked to Trump at a higher fee than in earlier elections – in keeping with NBC exit polls, Trump led Harris in that demographic 54%-44%. In the meantime, 59% of white males voted for Trump, and 52% of white ladies. A whopping 92% of black ladies voted for Harris, in comparison with about 80% of black males.
On CNN, a GOP speaking head made the purpose that Trump’s win was an indication of how essential it was to hearken to marginalised communities, by which he appeared to imply poor white folks. Guess who else, traditionally, haven’t been listened to? “Black ladies,” stated Van Jones, a demographic no one gave two shits about earlier than – I’m offended, paraphrasing – and hey-ho, nobody’s listening to them now.
The explanation this felt a lot worse than 2016 was as a result of it was inconceivable to say Individuals didn’t know what they have been voting for. After the preliminary shock had subsided, that first Trump victory had been simple to excuse and rationalise. Hillary Clinton had an excessive amount of baggage. Trump was absurd, however in novel ways in which turned the heads of people that thought actuality TV was actual. After 6 January, after his indictments and convictions, after the eye given to Mission 2025, none of those excuses wash. And, in fact, this time, lining up behind Trump comes a caravan of the worst folks on the planet. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley each returned to the Senate; Lauren Boebert successful a seat within the Home. On X, Elon Musk took a victory lap. The New York Submit printed a photograph of Trump grinning.
For a small demographic – Americans exterior the US – there was a ping of tiny, consoling reduction. An American good friend messaged from Norfolk, the place she moved along with her household final 12 months. “We obtained out in time. Fucker says he’s obtained a mandate from God.” For everybody else, it was horrible. A good friend working in a single day as a medic at one of many information networks had, at 7pm the earlier night time, been joking that her largest drawback was the make-up artists on straight 24-hour shifts kicking down her door for onerous medication. Now she texted, “this doesn’t really feel actual”.
It didn’t. Not the end result, or the volley of intestine punches. The one factor that got here near the sensation of unreality on Wednesday morning was how the world felt within the hours after 9/11. “Trump storms again,” screamed the New York Instances headline that Individuals woke as much as, and the phrase “storm” was aptly chosen. On the finish of his victory speech, Trump stated that this second may grow to be one in every of nice historic significance, a bit of flattery thrown within the course of his supporters, however that continues to be deeply – and terrifyingly – true for us all.
-
Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist
-
Do you’ve an opinion on the problems raised on this article? If you need to submit a response of as much as 300 phrases by electronic mail to be thought of for publication in our letters part, please click on right here.
Supply hyperlink
