The 2020 presidential election was one of the closest and most historic elections in the history of the United States, with Democrat and former Vice President Joe Biden running against incumbent Republican Donald Trump. Here are some Barons’ reactions to the results.
Update Nov. 9, 2020, 7:45 p.m.: Four more students’ opinions were added.
Update Nov. 12, 11:26 p.m.: Some quotes have been edited for clarity or brevity.
“I didn’t have much of an opinion. I mainly felt scared because whatever results follow there is a potential for violence…I supported Biden because after some research I found that he aligned with more of my opinions than Trump, but I didn’t feel strongly against Trump. I was not able to vote. Yes, this [presidential election] was [the first presidential election I’ve followed]. I would say it was very stressful since the results were close to tying. At first it swayed right and then it swayed left. I came in with the expectation that Biden would win by a large margin since Trump did not react very well with COVID, and I guess it was met but not really. He did win, but it felt very close…Biden reacted very humbly…As for Trump, supposedly he was unwilling to concede the position and I believe that is very immature,” senior Jacqueline Lai said. Photo provided.“There are no conclusive results yet. It is a valid argument to say that it seems that president-elect Joe Biden is in the lead and will most likely be elected but the fact of the matter is that there are lawsuits and recounts in numerous battleground states. Nowhere does it say that it is the media’s job to select the President…With an unprecedented amount of votes coming through the mail, the nature of this election is very different from previous ones. We will just have to see how this one plays out. After all, it is 2020. I was not able to vote. This was not the first election I have followed…I think it’s suffice to say that both candidates would be happy in the voter turn-out as an estimated 158 million voters participated in the greatest representative democracy in the world. The recounts are within the margin of error and if the Trump campaign wants to allocate resources for this we should let him. Millions of Americans have distrust for this election and have noticed many abnormalities,” senior Devan Pathak said. Photo provided.“We are still waiting on the results. The president elect is officially called mid-December. Votes are still being counted and verified. I went and voted with my Dad at the FV senior center. It was a quick and easy process. I followed the 2016 election and my family knew Trump would win it. We ordered take out food and all celebrated. My family is incredibly into politics so I have followed this election closely. The media does not tell us who the winner is so right now. Biden is the Media-elect and not the official President-Elect. I am extremely concerned with voter fraud at this point and I am looking forward to the next few weeks to see what is going to happen. I think Biden hid in the basement and Trump put 120% effort into securing reelection. I am looking forward to December 14th for the official announcement of who will be the President-Elect. Lots of votes to still verify at this point,” senior Michael Pohl said. Photo provided. “No, I [was] not able to vote. It was kind of frustrating of like how long we [had] to wait for the results, because I remember four years ago it was really quick. I woke up in the morning and the results were there immediately, but now it’s like I waited so long and I guess it was a really close one. I really had no expectations for the election, but I guess it’s kind of fun to be at the election again because I really thought I’d never get to see a real presidential debate. I was unable to see each candidates’ reaction to their results, but I’m just [hoping] that both will work their hardest from now on,” senior Jennifer Hua said. Photo by Andrew Hsieh.
“I am very pleased with the results. Under Trump, there has been so much hate and negativity going on in our country, and I am happy that Biden can repair the damage done to America…I am not eligible to vote. I have followed the elections in the past, but the 2020 elections have met my expectations in certain ways. In other cases, however, it did not. For me, Biden had a serious reaction because of his lack of enthusiasm. However, with Trump’s reaction, it did not make any sense to me. Trump claims it to be a ‘fraud’ and I see that his reaction is misleading and biased, since voting here has always been a serious matter,” sophomore Peter Lam said. Photo provided. “I am willing to accept the results of the election no matter which way it goes after a recount happens. We don’t want to celebrate (or cry) too early and have the results flip. Shady things have been occurring on both sides and no matter what side you’re on, we want democracy to win…I missed the voting age by 10 days…I closely followed the 2016 election and they have been fairly similar (besides the effects of COVID). I feel it’s understandable for [V]ice [P]resident Biden to be happy and accomplished in the results of today, but it is also fair for [P]resident Trump to feel that he can still win considering the possibility of corruption is out there,” senior Brian Foster said. Photo provided.“Unfortunately I’m only 16 so I wasn’t able to vote. I think that even though I prefer a certain candidate over another, I’d still have to accept whoever does win. I listened to the 2016 election but this was the first election I followed so closely and actually made an effort to educate myself with. I’m pleasantly surprised by the results and I hope for reform in America. I think that through Donald Trump’s social media presence, his reaction seemed pretty immature considering the high position he holds,” senior Malia Tran said. Photo provided. “[The results] were good. At first, it looked like Trump was going to win, but then at the end Biden won, so I was really happy about that. Trump was like a two year old girl and he went like, he like, started raging on Twitter and everything, and like, Biden was a lot better,” freshman Vanessa Le said. Photo by Andrew Hsieh. “No. I am under 18, so I am ineligible to vote. Although I was not hoping, I expected Trump to win his second term because there are very few presidents who only have one term. However, Biden won and it relieved me. The president-elect needs to be held accountable and do his job correctly when his time comes, however. This was the first presidential election I followed. It did meet my expectations that it was going to be nerve-racking and honestly scary to watch. I believe Donald Trump should recount the votes without having to badmouth Biden. Biden is recently tweeting positive affirmations and informing his followers what he has been doing on Twitter, which is nice but not as election-focused as I expected him to be,” freshman Kelly Tran said. Photo by Andrew Hsieh.
