Sunday, November 08, 2020
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Music can be heard in Times Square: from “We are the Champions” to “Hallelujah” to “Hit the Road, Trump” everything is sung in New York. And the post that transported the postal votes is celebrated. New York is literally over the moon!
It’s only quiet around Trump Tower. The police have cordoned off the area around the former residence of the incumbent president, who has since transferred to Florida and spends the days of the vote count in Washington, extensively cordoned off. Since Trump’s election victory in 2016, there had been repeated protests here, and demonstrators had often shouted “New York hates you”. The area has now been temporarily declared a “frozen zone”, says a police officer. Nobody is let in.
All around this “frozen zone”, of all places, Trump’s native city is celebrating his election defeat in a particularly frenetic way. After the news channel CNN declared the Democratic challenger Joe Biden the winner of the US presidential election on Saturday, cheers broke out after just a few seconds. People clapped, screamed and cheered on the streets and from the windows of their apartments.
He should fix it now: Joe Biden, larger than life.
(Photo: REUTERS)
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Cyclists rang the bell, motorists honked. A little later, thousands of people are drawn to the streets of the metropolis, with posters, US flags, champagne bottles, flowers and musical instruments, for a party that does not want to stop for many, many hours and puts all of New York in a festival mood. “Those were four dark years for us Americans and that is why we are here now to celebrate this victory that we achieved together,” says TJ Newton, who is on the road with a few friends. “Today, that means freedom for all Americans. And having Kamala Harris as the first black woman as vice president is a huge step that means a lot to many people in this country.”
At an intersection on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, a young woman in a vuvuzela trumps and waves an American flag. The passing cars, taxis and trucks honk their horns, many drivers put a hand out the window, wave or shape the peace sign with their fingers. Babies clap in their strollers, dogs wear buttons that read “Biden / Harris”. People have stickers that say “Trump / Pence Out”. “Biden’s party here is amazing,” shouts a man into his cell phone. A group of women get a bottle of champagne and plastic glasses from a kiosk and toast with cheers. “No more Trump,” yells a man driving by on a bicycle.
Get out and celebrate
The result of the US election was around five days long in coming, and to the growing impatience of many people, votes were counted and even more votes were counted – but then the announcement of the victory of Biden and his Vice President Kamala Harris for New York came at exactly the right time : Saturday lunchtime, bright sunshine and temperatures of more than 25 degrees. In the pandemic-plagued metropolis on the US east coast, which is largely liberal and democratic, and where Biden has won the majority of the votes according to the first counts, there is no stopping it. Joy and relief break all dams. “I just had to go out and celebrate,” cheers a woman – and people cheer back over lunch in the open air in a restaurant. A man with a “Biden / Harris” T-shirt carries a bagpipe, a little boy plays the trumpet and receives enthusiastic applause. “The votes of the voters determine the winner,” reads many people’s posters.
Robert John Burck, better known as the “Naked Cowboy”, almost got dressed to celebrate the day.
(Photo: imago images / Bildbyran)
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Every passing car is cheered at large intersections. When a mail delivery van stops at a traffic light, several people spontaneously run up to the driver and give him flowers. “USPS” chants the crowd – the abbreviation for the American Postal Service. “You delivered the victory with the postal ballot papers,” shouts a man.
Fight not over yet
Midtown Manhattan meanwhile is getting busier and busier. There is no longer any way for cars to get through on many large streets and squares. Small groups of people, almost all with masks, dance and sing in the streets: “Nananana, nananana, hey hey, goodbye!”, “Celebration”, “Hit the Road, Trump” or “We are the Champions”. A woman’s sign simply says: “Hallelujah!”. Some celebrants also warn that nothing has been achieved in terms of content. “The fight is far from over,” says a sign and a small crowd of demonstrators sings: “Trump is gone, but we have to keep fighting.”
Many people flock to Times Square, where a few days ago the first election results were followed between police barriers, barricaded shop windows and screaming duels with Trump supporters. Trump supporters can hardly be seen at all, the shop windows are gradually being exposed again and the party initially remains largely peaceful.
“This means more to me for my children than for me,” says New Yorker Justine Gabry, who is standing in Times Square with her husband and two children and is following the celebrations – because of the coronavirus pandemic by far. “It’s wonderful, this feeling of everyone coming together, especially as someone married to a white man and not white himself. I was worried about what would happen if Trump were re-elected and what would happen to us. ” Gabry has a flag that says “Believe in Biden”. “Believe in Biden”. “I just had to get out of here and show my kids that this is America. This is what we need to be. We have a lot of work to do, but we can do it.”
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