Students express opinions about Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential race
BY SUDIKSHA KOCHI STAFF WRITER
President-elect Joe Biden has officially won the 2020 presidential election with a winning a total of 306 electoral votes, leaving President Donald Trump with 232. According to The New York Times, his victory was announced when he won Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes, passing the 270 electoral vote requirement.
“I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide but unify, who doesn’t see red states and blue states, only sees the United States,” Biden said in his victory speech.
In addition to Biden’s victory, Kamala Harris became the first woman of color to be vice president-elect of the United States, turning the 2020 election into a historic one.
“While I may be the first woman in office, I will not be the last, because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities,” Harris said in her victory speech.
Students expressed their opinions on the results. Senior English major Jennifer Walsh said that while the states were counting their votes, she was anxious.
“Everything was at stake. I’m an LGBTQ woman with immigrant friends. I was scared Trump would be elected and the progress we have made would be undone,” Walsh said. “The way immigrants were being handled with Trump made me sick to my stomach and I want to see that change.”
When Biden was announced the winner, Walsh explained that she was relieved, but also somewhat anxious.
“I think Biden is what we need to heal this country, but it’s going to be a long, hard road. Mostly, I’m hopeful,” Walsh said.
Walsh said that the society and government will change for the better with Biden and Harris.
“Biden knows the government and political worlds.” Walsh said. “He knows the White House. Plus our vice president is a woman of color and if that’s not progress, I don’t know what is.” .
Senior English major Lindsay Krueger expressed a similar opinion, explaining that she is glad Biden won not only because she is a Democrat, but also because she felt he was the best candidate.
“I think he has a lot of promise and will lead our country back to a relative normal,” Krueger said. “He is educated and motivated to clean up after the disaster that was Trump’s term and 2020 especially.” .
Krueger said that Biden’s biggest responsibility during his term will be to get the government back on track.
“Not appointing unqualified family to positions and getting our country through COVID is what we need,” Krueger said.
Krueger explained that despite Trump’s refusal to concede, she remains hopeful that there will be a smooth transition between Trump and Biden in January.
“Considering how Trump reacted to learning of his defeat, I am pessimistic. With him lobbying lawsuits all over the place and his general complaining, I think at least some problems will occur as the transition happens,” Krueger said. “I think Biden has enough people behind him to help assure as good of a transition as possible.”
Krueger said that Biden will have a positive impact on both society and government.
“I feel like he’s got the experience and confidence to fix a lot of problems that Trump introduced to our country,” Krueger said. Our country has a lot to heal from regarding Trump’s presidency but I think that Biden will succeed immensely. We can only go up from here.”
Economics graduate student Marcel Gautreau explained that Biden’s win points to broader issues about the changing scape of the Democratic party.
“Biden’s victory has now officially ensured that the anti-war left effectively no longer exists as any mainstream force. Despite a moderately strong showing during the Bush years, they went into complete hibernation during Obama’s 8 years as the Drone Warlord of Washington […] Biden’s victory represents a tripling down on that commitment to US imperialism, with the appointment of a new generation of Iron Mongers being added to his transition team, only this time with an increased share of war hawks in heels and interventionists of color.”
Sophomore and public administration major, Ransom Fox explained that he has systematic concerns about the U.S. governmental system as a whole in the wake of Biden’s presidency.
“I personally am not thrilled with the result of the election, as pretty much we will be going back to the Bush/Obama years of big corporate, neo-liberal globalism. I am really worried about our nation’s economy […] This isn’t progress, this is a back-slide back to the same old same old that lead to the rise of Donald Trump in the first place, who addressed a lot of issues correctly yet was spotty, if best, in fixing them.”
Fox continued, explaining that the delayed results led to confusion and tension across the United States.
“I felt like Biden would win, not by a blowout, and that the best result for America would have been a clear-cut winner, as well as having the same winner that was called on election night being the same person who won after all of the votes were counted,” he said. “This would minimize the unknown and tension, which would shrink the chance of civil unrest and confusion, however, that did not happen, so pretty much half of the country thinks one person is president while the other half thinks another person is, leading to a more concrete manifestation of the “not my president” narrative that has been prominent post-2016.”
