Biden Proceeds with Transitioning to Presidential Role as Trump Refuses to Concede

Biden+Proceeds+with+Transitioning+to+Presidential+Role+as+Trump+Refuses+to+Concede

By Journalism Class, Staff Writers

Although Vice President Joseph R. Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris have been pronounced the next President and Vice President of the United States, President Donald J. Trump is refusing to concede, making allegations against the legitimacy of the election and taking legal action.

The election is historic particularly in terms of turnout and the election of Senator Harris as the first female vice president and the first Black American vice president who is also of South Asian descent.

According to the Associated Press’ live presidential results, Biden has 77,181,757 votes and President Trump has 72,071,588 votes. When it comes to electoral votes, Biden has 290 and President Trump has 217. 

The biggest states Biden has taken are Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Nevada. Biden obtained Michigan on Wednesday by a percentage of 50.6 to 47.9 percent with 2,790,648 and President Trump with 2,684,525 votes. Biden also won Pennsylvania by 49.8 to 49.1 percent with 3,362,024 and President Trump with 3,316.313. Biden is in the lead with 671,887 votes to 635, 017 with Nevada. He has also gained a huge amount of votes in New Hampshire, where he is ahead of President Trump by 4.6 percent with 52. percent compared to Trump’s 45.6. So, he has 423,291 vs President Trump with 365,017. 

Overall, it was his victory in Pennsylvania that led to Biden to win the election.

According to the Washington Post and other news outlets, the turnout numbers have dramatically increased compared to prior years. So far, the majority of states have surpassed their existing 40-year record of turnout with some also projected to join the list as well. According to the Washington Post, “2020 turnout will be the highest since 1900.”

The number of Americans that voted during this election is presumed to be 160 million people, whereas it was 138 million people voted in the 2016 election. There are many speculations for why this number has dramatically increased, but according to the Times Magazine, “More Americans voted in 2020 – and voted by mail – than any other election in U.S. history.”  

All in all, this year’s election is presumed to become one of the highest turnouts in recorded history with 62.5 percent of the population voting as compared to 60.1 percent in 2016. 

Despite the lack of evidence, President Trump and his campaign are preparing to fight the results.  

Since student support for President Trump is steadfast given the results of The Patriot Press poll where 721 students voted for Trump and only 330 for Biden, some students claim the election results are indeed fraudulent and still express support for their candidate.   

“I think that Trump was going to win, out of the two. I was not really surprised because of the whole voter fraud, but it is being handled according to protocol. No, not all, I do not think the election was fair until Trump filed his lawsuits.Yes I participated in the Patriot Press poll, I was not surprised with the first results, but I am fairly confident with the second results. I care about this election, we’re going to be voting in a few years, so I think it is okay to be paying attention to politics,” said Andrew Smith, sophomore. 

“In my opinion, I wanted Trump. Well I was kind of shocked because for the numbers of some states and then now we see their fraud in states now. Well, if it was all in person, then yes, I think it would have been a fair election. I really care about this election. I think the only thing I can hope for is that our country will be saved,” said Daniel Saunders, sophomore. 

“Well it is not fully finished and I do not like the way people are leaning towards Biden,” says sophomore Max Cohen.

The New York Times conducted an investigation into those fraud allegations and found no evidence of the claims.

Other students expressed the joy and relief of Joe Biden winning the election especially since a few students expected President Trump to win. However, people were very anxious about what the results were going to be due to the extended period of time it took to get them.

¨It felt like a long sigh. A weight lifted off almost,” says Junior Trinity Espinosa. “The feeling of tensions between all the minorities in this country was high. It kinda made me wanna run off to the streets and celebrate. I was kinda preparing myself for Trump to win, so I didn’t disappoint myself but the end results were worth it.”

 “No, I do think that there was some suspicion on both sides,” says Freshman Arielle Rabukhin.  “I was not surprised and happy.”

Freshman Gianna Bernier shared the same opinion saying, “I was very happy.”

“I was relieved because a black female is going to be our next vice president,” says Senior Chrisla Pinto. “I feel like it’s very important that other races and ethnicities have an opportunity to run in the elections.”