Americans chose their president in one of the most unpredictable and poisonous elections in American history, facing long lines after more than 82 million of them had already cast their votes early, in person or by mail. And braving the bad weather (in some states), the fears of violence, the armored climate. With the White House and the Capitol barricaded but also snipers, drones, barriers, metal detectors, bulletproof vests and glass in many polling stations. Also in the background is the American intelligence alarm about the risk of escalation of foreign interference, due to the spread of disinformation in the swing states by undercover Russian actors.
The winner is already in the polls, the name of who will lead the White House for the next four years after that Joe Bidenforced to pass the baton to his deputy Kamala Harris for the debacle in the debate with Donald Trump, he will become one of the few presidents with a single term. The long election night of Trump and Harris, however, is the most uncertain ever: a thriller wait in a razor-thin race, hanging on a few tens of thousands of votes in 13 counties of seven swing states. Election Day opened with a little more hope for the Dem candidate, who in the last week seems to have recovered some ground after perhaps her rival raised his tone too much. In a race that remains neck and neck, some of the most authoritative pollsters have changed their forecast, giving Harris the favorite by a whisker: 50% to 49.6% for Nate Silver, 50% to 49% for the FiveThirtyEight website, while Allan Lichtman , which has correctly predicted 9 of the last 10 elections, confirmed its prediction in favor of Kamala.
During the hours of voting, with the polls opening first on the east coast and then gradually in all the other states up to the west coast and the extreme tip of Alaska, the two candidates made their final appeals. Blue jacket and white shirt without tie, red Maga hat, the tycoon showed up at the Palm Beach polling station accompanied by Melania, who had already voted by post. “I am confident, I feel that we are doing well, this is my best campaign”, he said relaxed, hoping that we would not have to wait for the outcome of the vote and ensuring that he had not already prepared a speech because “if I win I already know what say”. Then, when asked by reporters whether he will tell his fans not to be violent, he replied: «I don’t have to tell them that there won’t be violence. Obviously there will be no violence. My supporters are not violent… they are people who do not believe in violence”, he assured, forgetting the assault on the Capitol. Trump also promised that «if I lose, if it was a fair election, I will be the first to recognize it. So far I think it’s been correct.” “This is the most important day in American history… Together we will achieve a great victory and make America great again,” he wrote on X, then awaiting the first results in his Mar-a-Lago fort.
Harris, who had already voted by mail, instead spent the day among Pennsylvania votersradio interviews and a family dinner at his official residence in the Naval Observatory in Washington, before heading to Howard University for election night. “Go out and vote for a better future”, his message on social media. A future that he outlined in his final rally in Philadelphia, the cradle of US democracy. Speaking after stars like Lady Gaga and Oprah in front of the steps of the Museum of Art made famous by the film Rocky: «A tribute to those who start as underdogs and climb towards victory», he said, almost in response to the tycoon who in his final rally in Michigan he sinisterly hoped to see her in the ring with Tyson.