The long, drawn-out lead up to the presidential election in the United States of America came to a close Tuesday, Nov. 3rd. The lead up is over, but the aftermath has just begun.
President-Elect Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. has been declared the winner of the most contested, and with a combined 144+ million voters casting their ballots for one candidate or the other, the most voted US presidential election to date. On January 20, 2021, at 77, he will become the oldest president ever elected.
President Donald Trump previously held the record when he was elected in 2016 at the age of 70. For the record, John F Kennedy was the youngest at 43 when elected in 1961.
Biden’s running mate, Kamala Devi Harris, achieved a number of historic firsts when she was elected Vice President. She will become the first woman, first African American, and with her family roots from India, the first Asian-American to be elected Vice President.
But is this election really finally over? Apparently not by a long shot. President Trump has already assembled a team of lawyers to contest the results. So far, many of their arguments have fallen on deaf ears in the courts.
However, as Eleanor Lutz, Allison McCann and Amy Schoenfeld Walker from the New York Times wrote on Nov. 7, “If lawsuits and recounts persist — and if vote margins are razor thin in key swing states — it could be weeks before President Trump or Joseph R. Biden Jr. is named the winner. In some scenarios, the contest could drag into 2021.”
And things could get ugly.
Trump supporters, some armed, are converging on major cities. New York Times is reporting, “As President Trump signaled his intention to continue fighting the results of an election that he lost, some of his supporters — many of them carrying guns — amassed at state capitol buildings around the country. … Some Trump supporters were carrying what appeared to be assault rifles.”
Businesses around the country are taking up preventive measures, just in case. CNN reported storefronts in New York City and Washington, DC, boarded up their windows in the days leading up to the election, fearing riots might erupt in the streets. “Tiffany, Saks Fifth Avenue, CVS, Target and Macy’s are among the chains that are boarding up some of their stores’ windows in preparation.”
So, while Democrats take to the streets to celebrate, Republicans take to the streets to protest. The next few days, weeks and months could get very interesting in the Beacon of Democracy.
Side note: If you believe in curses, you might think there is a fair chance Kamala Harris will become the first woman, first African American, and first Asian-American to become President by default via the alleged “0-curse”. From 1840 through 1960, every United States president elected in a year ending in zero died while in office.
Ronald Reagan broke the string in 1980. George W. Bush also survived two full terms after being elected in the year 2000. History shows that presidents elected in a year ending in zero before 1840 all survived. In all, four presidents elected in “0-curse” years were killed, three died of natural causes, and four lived out their full terms.
Given Biden’s age, and given that he was elected in the year 2020 during a global pandemic and a continuous string of mishaps and disasters, one might suppose anything could happen. But curses aren’t real, are they.
