By: Sophia David (Editor-in-Chief ‘21)
After receiving the long-awaited results from the highly polarized and incredibly close election between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, nearly everyone has something to say. Here are the thoughts of four politically minded FCS Students: Mari Snider (‘22), Leah Anderson (‘21), Mohammed Gueddi (‘21), and Xander Giaccone (‘21)
Mari: “I am feeling good, but I’m not surprised. I honestly felt like it could have gone either way. I wouldn’t have been surprised if Trump had won, and I wasn’t surprised that Joe won. I do think the closeness was very stressful. I mean we all knew it was going to take a while, but I didn’t know that it would be such a close margin in so many states; so that was definitely nerve racking. I think that, ultimately, Biden got the popular vote because he appeals to more people in the middle. I find him to be a lot more moderate than Donald Trump. I don’t think you would ever see Trump saying something like ‘whether you voted for me or not, I’ll still be your president.’ I didn’t think either of them could win by a landslide. I think it shows a lot about the duality of American politics. A lot of people I talked to that live around here or go to Friends’ Central have been very surprised that it was so close because everyone they know is voting for Biden. I do think it shows a lot about the bubble we live in. Although a lot of us dislike Trump, I think we underestimated what a huge following he has. Also, some people are just going to vote Republican, no matter what.
I do think that it's irresponsible for any candidate to announce or claim a victory prematurely. Since this summer, Trump has been casting doubt on the election, claiming that it was going to be fraudulent. It seems to me that he is looking for any evidence to prove what he was saying earlier. He has been so set on this since before it has happened. I don’t think there is substantial evidence that anything fraudulent happened, but if they do find evidence, I think they should do an investigation to maintain the sanctity of our government. Even with some evidence of voter fraud, I don’t think it would be enough to flip the election.”
Leah: “More than anything I am proud of Philadelphia and where I live. I feel really relieved. This was a great source of stress. I also felt really hopeful, especially after hearing Biden’s speech because he is someone who has historically brought Democrats and Republicans together. I was not surprised that Biden won. I was hoping Trump wouldn’t win, but it would not have been shocking to me. I thought there was a chance we could pull it off.
I am wildly unsurprised that Trump claimed to have won. I don’t think it will change anything. I have been reading a lot from legal scholars about his claims, and they have been like ‘it looks like a five year old wrote it. He has nothing to go on.’ His tweets are unsurprising and egomaniacal.”
Mohammed: “I was actually kind of surprised that Biden won. I didn’t expect him to, but I am happy that he did. I was really surprised that he got Pennsylvania. He pulled a lot of states that I didn’t expect him to get, which was kind of cool to see. I like his attitude, where he wants to unite the country. He doesn’t seem to be trashing the current president too much, which I think is cool.
I don’t think Trump can say he won the election. I mean, if he believes there was voter fraud, we have our courts for a reason. Take it to court. I don’t want to say there was or there wasn't because I don't know. I’ve heard of a few things that are suspect, but I don’t know if they are all verifiable. If he wants to take it to court, go ahead. I was surprised that Biden pulled through. I didn’t expect him to do that, but I was just wrong. I also thought it was really cool that we had such a high voter turnout this year.”
Xander: “I think I knew that mail-in ballots would come in and be 70-80% for Biden, especially after the first day, when a lot of people were really concerned. I would have been more worried if the numbers had been more disproportional on the first day. I’m glad Biden won. Definitely. That’s cool. That’s a step aways from facism, which is always good. It’s not a step towards progressivism, necessarily, but it’s definitely better than Trump.
There’re a few things to address in terms of Trump's claims about voter fraud. There’s the claim that more people than registered to vote [actually voted]. That one is just factually incorrect. Like 200,000 more people registered than voted. Also, there was a notation error in Michigan that was corrected in 10 minutes. I think Trump’s claims are completely baseless. I don’t think they will go anywhere. I don’t even think any Supreme Court justice would risk their name being dragged through the mud for the rest of history to support him. I think he’s a baby, and he can’t handle anything. He’s just really immature. I do think the accusations are dangerous, very Hitleresque, but it’s not surprising from Trump either. I don’t think they are actually going to end up being an issue. I just think it's embarrassing to all of America that our President is too much of a baby to accept election results, but it is what it is. At least he lost.”
To read more about the political opinions of Mari, Leah, Mohammed, and Xander, read “The Unheard Voices at FCS”