Blue print

Taking a stand against Trump’s policies and statements, women and people of colour pick Biden for president

- FARWA IMAM ALI

Long lines outside polling stations. Trumpers in speeding vehicles flashing weapons. The White House fenced off. The Empire State Building, upmarket couture stores and downtown small businesses boarded up. That’s what election week looked like in the US. Yet, through the daunting imagery, you saw Biden voters everywhere. Armed with earphones, energy bars, water, folding chairs, nail and hair clippers, and fully charged cellphones, people waited in line for three to eleven hours to cast their vote. Their message to the incumbent president, said Amy Cantrell from Georgia: “Donald J. Trump, you’re fired.”

Since he hit the campaign trail, Joe Biden notched a stable national lead in the much-awaited dust-up of the Trump administration. He campaigned frenetically until the last day in Pennsylvania, dispatched former president Barack Obama to Florida, vice president candidate Kamala Harris to Georgia and other surrogates to different swing states. Known to make deals across party lines, Biden was able to leverage his skills to woo prodigal voters back to the Democrat fold, reclaiming Michigan and Wisconsin. In doing so, he successfully rebuilt the democratic “blue wall” Trump took down in 2016.

In Washington, DC, first-time voter Neha Dhwan watched as Trump called India “filthy” and Biden spoke of the contributions of Indian Americans. Undecided until then, she voted for Biden. Prior to the election, a YouGov Poll indicated 72 per cent of Indian Americans who planned to vote backed Biden, against the 22 per cent for Trump. And they did.