The results of the American election are clear: Donald Trump won the popular vote and that of the electors. A real cold shower for the Democrats, who were betting a lot on their candidate.
He's back. Donald Trump succeeded in his challenge to return to the White House on Tuesday, November 5, with a clear victory, which caused a real shock wave in the United States. His victory was clear and quick, the former president winning the two disputed states of North Carolina and Georgia in a handful of hours, before Wisconsin and Pennsylvania served as his final springboard.
For the Kamala Harris camp, which had placed all its hopes in its vice-president of Joe Biden, it is a shock. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as on the campus of Howard University in Washington, Democrats, gathered for the occasion, confide that they have passed the “pire“evenings.
In “Philly”, the city where the Declaration of Rights was written, that is to say the first ten amendments to the American Constitution, Gabor, the organizer of an evening, promised a party until January 20 , date of the presidential inauguration. But in his club, the celebration turned into a nightmare as Donald Trump's victory loomed. “This is proof that democracy is less important to Americans than the economy and the price of their groceries.he regrets.
“If you don’t like democracy and you want to pay less for a roll of toilet paper, well done, you’ve won… But the cost is democracy.”
Gabor, a democratic activistat franceinfo
If, in 2020, it took Joe Biden 4 days to win in the most crucial of the “swing states”, four years later, it took just a few hours for Donald Trump. “It's crazy to realize what's happeningconfides Laura. When he came to power, I was 16, it was a shock. Years later, I am an adult woman and we think that people would have common sense, that they would care about their neighbors.“
Gathered on the campus of Howard University in Washington, it is the same feeling: the supporters of Kamala Harris had difficulty realizing their defeat, they, who nourished the hope of a turnaround in the situation until late in the evening. And the announcement that the candidate would not even come to give a speech was like a cold shower.
With, in the background, a concern with the re-election of Donald Trump: in this establishment attended by 80% black students, some, like Alana, a political science teacher, fear a decline in many rights. “I am a little disoriented to see that many voters have not understood the need to protect the rights of women, minorities, immigrants…“, she sighs. Before continuing: “Seeing that we are going to have a Republican government scares me, especially for black women who will go through difficult times to survive in this climate.“.
The fact remains that the women on whom Kamala Harris counted enormously for her victory, like young people elsewhere, it was not enough… or she did not seduce them. This young woman, a film student at this university, has, at this stage in any case, no explanation for this failure. “You know, we saw Kamala's face every day. We were immersed in her campaign… So we thought that people wanted her to win, that they were more on her side. But, actually, no. We see it with the results. So, I don't really know…“, she smiled, nervously.
As a result, in Washington, as in Philadelphia, the party was cut short: at 2 a.m. on November 6, the chairs were put away, the televisions were turned off… There was only one thing left to do, jokes Rick, this activist from Pennsylvania : “We must move forward! We have already gone through four years of Trump. You just have to wonder how we're going to get through four more years… Go to bed! Wake up in the morning and hope for the best!“, he wants to be positive.
