Politics

Spontaneous celebrations break out in U.S. cities over Biden victory and Trump loss

by Charlie Smith on November 7th, 2020 at 1:59 PM
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      An emotional outpouring came quite suddenly after U.S. networks declared that Joe Biden had won Pennsylvania.

      After days of watching his vote count increase in battleground states, his supporters first started banging pots and honking horns after Biden crossed the 270 mark in the Electoral College.

      That morphed into joyful and spontaneous celebrations in parks and public squares in many U.S. cities.

      There's even a dance party outside the Trump Tower in Vancouver, according to former B.C. Green candidate James Marshall.

      Some on U.S. TV have teared up over the realization that their children will grow up in a country where bigotry wasn't openly and routinely expressed by the president of the United States.

      One of those parents was CNN commentator Van Jones. You can see his comments below.

      Trump era coming to an end

      Not only will Trump be leaving the White House in just over two months, members of his inner circle will also be packing their bags.

      That list will include his senior advisers, Stephen Miller and son-in-law Jared Kushner, chief of staff Mark Meadows, Attorney General William Barr, Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin, and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, 

      Video: Kool and the Gang's official video for "Celebration", created in 1980, sums up the mood in U.S. cities 40 years later.

      For a fair number of people who trace their roots back to Latin America, the sweetest departure will be that of Miller, whose white nationalist views heavily influenced Trump's immigration policies.

      Those who feel that the Justice Department must not be politicized to serve the president's whims will be more focused on the fall of Barr.

      Human-rights activists who've been appalled by the Trump administration cozying up to dictators—including Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman—may be most delighted by the end of Kushner and Pompeo's influence.

      Those who think the White House has been out to lunch in its response to the coronavirus might zero in on Meadows, who recently contracted COVID-19. Back in May, his daughter had a large wedding celebration when so many others were following public-health guidelines. It was an early indication that the Trump administration wasn't going to act with alacrity.

      But really, it's mostly about Trump himself, especially for African Americans and many American women.

      The entire world endured hearing him say there were good people on both sides when neo-Nazis and other white supremacists gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.

      Below, you can see how Biden and his supporters are reacting over social media to the Democrats retaking the White House. 

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