Pictured Above: Joe Biden will be the 46th president of the United States.
Courtesy of Gage Skidmore
Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election following the counting of outstanding mail-in and provisional ballots in key states.
Biden has 290 electoral votes, surpassing the necessary 270 to secure the presidency. Trump currently stands at 214 electoral votes.
As of Sunday afternoon, Georgia and North Carolina have not been called. Biden leads in Georgia, while Trump leads in North Carolina.
Saturday night Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris addressed the nation in their respective victory speeches.
Harris quickly defined what the country “chose” by electing Biden as the next president.
“You delivered a clear message,” Harris said. “You chose hope and unity, decency, science – and yes, truth. You chose Joe Biden as the next president of the United States of America.”
Harris also acknowledged the significance of her historical feat as the first woman elected as vice president.
“While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last,” Harris said. “Every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities.”
Biden centered his speech around unity.
“For all those of you who voted for President Trump, I understand the disappointment tonight.” Biden said. “I’ve lost a couple times myself. But now let’s give each other a chance.”
“It’s time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again, listen to each other again.”
Biden argued that political polarization must be lessened in order to progress as a nation.
“To make progress we have to stop seeing our opponents as our enemies,” Biden said. “They are not our enemies – they are Americans.”
Junior environmental science and policy major Casey Urtecho believes Biden’s win marks a starting point for progress.
“This is a huge step forward in progressing as a nation,” Urtecho said. “(Progress will be made) in addressing climate change, white supremacy and so many other harmful implications we are facing that were ignored in Trump’s term.”
Sophomore political science major Zachary Axel believes Trump’s rhetoric lost him the election.
“At the end of the day, the president’s mouth was his undoing,” Axel said. “Millions and millions of people who don’t vote or care about politics showed up to reject Trump’s attitude and way of speaking.”
Rebecca Nero, president of the USF St. Petersburg chapter of Planned Parenthood Generation Action, helped organize for Democrats up and down the ballot. She feels that her hard work paid off.
“This win was poetic justice,” Nero said. “Honestly, it feels affirming because I’ve been working and so have so many other hard-working organizers in our community and throughout the country that made this possible. It paid off.”
Madeline Rhodes, the president of College Democrats at USFSP, was excited to learn of Biden’s victory.
“After four years of lies, slander, divisive propaganda, racist (and) sexist rhetoric and blatant corruption from the Trump administration, (I am) absolutely thrilled to learn about Biden and Harris’s victory,” Rhodes said.
Rhodes also noted the significance of Harris being elected as the first female vice president.
“Hopefully the small victory of Kamala Harris as vice president will set a precedent for the future of women in power,” Rhodes said. “Representation of women in leadership and politics is fundamental in creating legislation that will combat the United States’ long history of sexism, racism and inequalities towards women of all backgrounds.”
Junior psychology major Kristian Sawyer believes the Republican Party made great strides despite Trump’s defeat.
“It is interesting to note the large red wave we saw,” Sawyer said. “13 Republican women getting elected, multiple incumbents keeping their seat. Also the large turnout of Latino voters in support of Trump was very unexpected.”
Although every major news outlet, such as the Associated Press, has called the election for Biden, Trump has not conceded.
Concession is a formality, but Trump has spread unfounded claims of voter fraud in various states where mail-in ballots were counted after Election Day.
“Joe Biden should not wrongfully claim the office of the president,” Trump said in a tweet before the election was officially called for Biden. “I could make that claim also. Legal proceedings are just now beginning!”
Soon after this tweet, Trump claimed victory.
“I WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT,” Trump said in a tweet.
Urtecho thinks Trump’s refusal to concede is a sign of frustration.
“He is a sore loser and probably will end up being dragged out of office screaming for his lawyers,” Urtecho said.
Sawyer welcomes the possibility of investigating voter fraud.
“I’ll definitely be waiting for those Georgia recounts and election fraud investigations to come through,” Sawyer said. “If there was large voter fraud, from either side, it should be revealed by the media for what it is.”
Axel hopes Trump will concede.
“I highly disagree with Trump’s refusal to see the writing on the wall and concede,” Axel said. “I understand it must be hard to swallow having a huge lead on election night and watching it be destroyed, but that (is) the nature of a COVID-19 election year.”
Patrick Tobin | The Crow’s Nest
