“I pledge to be a president who does not see red or blue states, but United States.”
These are words President-elect Joe Biden used last night, in his victory speech in Wilmington, Delaware. He pledged to be a President that would unify the country, and not divide it.
However, that will be much easier said than done.
This election has clearly shown the bitter divide that remains within its Democratic and Republican sides.
75 million people voted for Joe Biden, while 70 million voted for Donald Trump.
Even though the controversies, the investigations, and the Impeachment; those 70 million still decided to opt for Trump over Biden. Hundreds of polls were predicting a Biden landslide, a prediction that was immensely wrong.
With Biden victories in key battleground states only being the tens of thousands, the opposition’s triumph against Trump could easily be seen as underwhelming. This has been the case in Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin and more.
What was also known as the Democratic ‘Blue Wave’; did not materialise.
This cannot be more clear than by looking at the U.S Senate and House election results.
Republicans look likely to maintain dominance of the Senate, pending on two Georgia run-off elections early next year. As the polls predicted the Democrats would take the Senate with ease, we discover that the polls weren’t so accurate.
Republicans retention of the Senate could be a considerable roadblock in the path of Joe Biden, with much of his future legislation and appointments, dependent on how the chamber votes.
It was also predicted that Democrats wouldn’t lose any seats in the House of Representatives, but the Republicans were able to flip five seats away from them.
Democrats will hold a majority in that chamber, with the results as they currently stand showing them having 215 seats, compared to 196 Republican seats.
In being a unifier; Biden already has one up on Trump when it comes to his speech.
We’re unlikely to get any ill-intended threats, sentiments, or major political gaffes from Biden.
But it’s his future policy direction that will be the main card in play; especially when it comes to being a uniter or a divider in his country.
If he lets his party push him towards enacting their more progressive, and radically liberal policies; then it will prove very difficult to unite with the 70 million people who are still perturbed by their candidate’s loss.
Maybe with the Republicans in control of the Senate, that might prevent too much rocking of the boat.
Or maybe that could cause too much of a problem for Biden if he is unable to achieve much during his time in office. After all, his legacy will be at stake.
Only time will tell.
“1280px-Joe_Biden_(49405107506)” by jlhervàs is licensed under CC BY
I’m a politics student at Ulster University
Discover more from Slugger O'Toole
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
