Some might describe the recent election as the most heated in many years, perhaps even “Trumping” the 2016 one. The winner was declared on Nov. 7th: Joe Biden. He won the popular vote by 7 million and the electoral college by going 36 votes over the 270 finish line. He succeeded in flipping Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania to blue. However, President Trump denies the outcomes, claiming the Democrats committed voter fraud by casting ballots in the names of deceased citizens. He has urged people to overturn the election results and his administration is not helping Biden’s transition team. 

Annika Horne, a sophomore and a speech and debate member, followed the election closely and was happy with Biden’s win.

“I think that the president’s response to the election is unprofessional and frankly unpresidential. When Hillary Clinton lost the election in 2016 she was no doubt upset but she did not act like this. Even some of the president’s fellow Republicans including Mitt Romney think that he is going about it the wrong way and there should be a peaceful transfer of power like there has been in the past,” Horne said.

According to NBC News , Federal agencies and representatives have called this “the most secure election in American history.” While the president continues to deny the results publicly, in private he is talking about running again in 2024. However, that is far in the future. Many wonder what the next four years with Biden have in store.

“I don’t think that president-elect Joe Biden is perfect but he is a lot better than what we have right now. I think that he will make everyone’s lives better, especially those who are more disadvantaged and oppressed,” Horne said. “He has some good plans for the future that will actually help us progress as a nation and I think that is very important right now.”

Even though the White House will be Democratic, Republicans have won the Senate. Horne says this might make getting this done harder.

“The Supreme Court is already a supermajority for Republicans. If one does step down during Biden’s term, it will be much harder to confirm a Democratic-appointed judge to help balance the court,” she said.

Despite the drawbacks, many people say this election has been a large step forward for people of color and LGBTQ members. Dozens of the first transgender, nonbinary, gay and lesbian officials step into their new offices around the country. A good percentage of them are also people of color, and therefore break barriers in two ways. Kamala Harris will be the first female vice president, the first Black vice president, and the first South Asian vice president. 

“The best thing that came from this election is having Kamala Harris as vice president-elect because she is the first woman in the position and more than that she is also a person of color. This is something that has needed to happen for a long time and it made me so happy that it did. These two things combined show a lot of people that they can do whatever they set their mind to and I think that is so important,” Horne said.

No matter what side you’re on, a lot of people agree the American people did a tremendous job voting. The Associated Press declared “turnout records” as total votes spilled over 153 million, or almost one half of the population and 73% of the voting age population. This might be a new America.