Episode 114: The U.S. Presidential Election Is Over...More or Less

Listen to this Episode of "Coffee with Gringos" here or on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play and Stitcher.

Ian: Hey everyone, you are listening to “Coffee with Gringos.” I'm Ian Kennedy.

Paige: And I'm Paige Sutherland.

Ian: And today, we're going to be following up on some previous episodes we have had recently discussing the very strange and interesting year that we've had, following up with the US elections. So, we've already experienced the elections which happened on November 3rd and now we have, supposedly, a clear winner, but with all the complications going on this year with COVID and all the changes that were made for this upcoming election, there's definitely still a lot happening until we have the presidential change happen in January. So, Paige and I thought it'd be great for us to give everyone listening an update on how things are going and where things might go in the next few months. So, as usual, if you get lost and go online and check out that audio guide and transcript. So, Paige, you are in person up there in the US following these election results. So how about you tell all of our listeners what's going on right now. Let's get a good update.

Paige: Yeah, I mean, as you mentioned, Ian, the election was on the 3rd. Besides maybe one or two elections, there hasn't really been an election where we don't know the clear winner the next day. And so, this election was on a Tuesday, and the winner wasn't announced until Saturday. And so that was Vice President Joe Biden (who) was elected but as you said, the current president, Donald Trump, is saying that it’s not true. That the results are fake, they're fraudulent, and that he won. And so, we still have weeks after the election and he is still saying he didn't lose. So, it's kind of a weird election because you have some people who are just like the elections over, we have a winner and you still have a small minority that are like, nope, the election is still going.

Ian: Is it normal for a president to not concede to losing the results?

Paige: No, to my knowledge it’s never happened before. It's pretty traditional that the candidate that loses will call the winner that night and congratulate them and they'll give a speech to their supporters thanking them and just going out honorably saying we put up a good fight, but it wasn't enough. It's always been part of US elections, that tradition, and Trump has been, for his term, kind of childish and just says he won't admit losing and just says that there was cheating involved and it was fraudulent. And so, as we've been seeing, a lot of the contested states, the Secretary of States are coming out and saying “We've reviewed all the ballots and there was no fraud.” So, Trump is losing his edge in contesting the election because most states are saying no, it was fair.

Ian: Right. And what's interesting too about, in the US, is when we have the election is the current president gets to keep power for a few months until January when the transition gets made. And so, I don't think it's surprising at all to anybody that Trump is buying his time until the end of January to keep fighting this, even though he's not in a good position. He doesn't really have a lot to fight for right now because, like you said, the results are coming out and showing that there isn't corruption, there's no fraud. Which, of course, it's important to do that due process and make sure that somebody has won in the right way. But now we're seeing that through this due diligence even that Trump probably doesn't have very much of a chance, so I don't think it surprises anyone that he's throwing this little temper tantrum before leaving office. I think there's actually a good chance he might get dragged out by his ankles, out of the office. But, you know, he's a billionaire—he can go back to his mansions and his golf course. I've even heard rumors that he's going to try to run again in 2024.

Paige: If he is still alive. He’s old.

Ian: Exactly, if he can stay alive. So, I've heard rumors that he's going to start his own media network—his own conservative news network—and keep the ball rolling until he's got a chance to run in 2024. Again, like we said, if he's still alive. I don't think anyone's surprised but I will say I'm pretty relieved that there hasn't been more violence or really bad outcomes from this election. I think a lot of us—myself included—were worried about more protests, more violence, more problems if the results had been closer and if Trump said “You know what, I'm not leaving office.” I think, obviously, we're not to January yet, but I think things are looking calmer than I had imagined before. So, what do you think about that? What do you see up on the streets up there?

Paige: Yeah, I agree. I mean, I think there was a lot of anxiety amongst a lot of people from Tuesday until Saturday because really it was a very close race. And, you know, before the election, Biden was favored by a lot. The polls were saying that Biden was going to win hands down, very easily, and that wasn't the case. Trump got a lot of votes—more than 70 million votes. So, it was a very close race, historic turnouts. People really came out and voted this election, I think because, the biggest issue on voters’ minds was this global pandemic, and how to address it. And so, I think people really wanted to be able to choose their leader to, kind of, fix this problem. So, I think there was a lot of anxiety on whether Trump would win or not because a lot of people will say that he didn't handle it very well, and he hasn't. People are still dying, cases are going up, and he's still has been lackadaisical about it where Biden ran on a campaign that he was going to be really strong on COVID and he was going to really try to take down this pandemic and make sure that people could go back to work and normal lives could happen again. And so, there was a lot of stress but Saturday, like you said, it was peaceful. I think you just saw a lot of celebrations, like people took to the street, and really happy because a lot of people that voted against Trump, for them, four years of Trump was really hard. He took back a lot of rights for some communities, he wasn't strong on some issues like racism. That was a big issue that really exploded and he just kind of took a backseat to that. Like I said, he has kind of taken a backseat to COVID, not really caring about it, so my general sense was people were either really happy that Trump lost, and then you had also, people who were just not really angry but just contesting the election saying “Trump won. Fake news, he won.” To my knowledge, no violence, no real aggression on the street, which was really good. It feels at ease.

Ian: Yeah, I was going to say it's probably a bit of a relief not having to worry about a potential civil war breaking out that a lot of people were worried about.

Paige: CWG officially has over 100 episodes and we are among the “Top Podcasts in Chile.” And that's thanks to you, but we are always working to grow our audience so make sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, Tik Tok, and even LinkedIn. But most importantly—rate, review, and share us with all your friends, family, and coworkers. And if you want to take your English education to the next level, sign up for private or group classes at dynamicenglish.cl.

Ian: I also want to bring up, so you mentioned two important things earlier and the first one I want to address is, you mentioned, the high voter turnout this year. So, I'm reading here that the turnout for this year was the highest that we've had in almost 120 years and that by the end of all this, all the votes counted, the US could have somewhere in the range of 70% to 74% of voter turnout which is really high. And you mentioned, again, a lot of this has to do with easing those restrictions for allowing people to vote from home, due to COVID. So, we see a huge turnout, and with both of the candidates saying they both received the most votes in US presidential history and a lot of that's attributed to the COVID situation. So, it's interesting to see that number so high and, obviously, due to the strange year we've been living in, but it's very interesting.

Paige: Yeah, and in a lot of states, people were able to vote early, people were able to vote by mail, people were working from home so they had more flexibility on going to the polls. Where, you know, if you work at a job, maybe, nine to nine job, twelve-hour shifts, it's impossible for you to make it to the polls. So, I think people were more available to vote but I also think the stakes were a lot higher because of this global pandemic, because of this Black Lives Matter movement that has had a lot of momentum. There's a lot of issues and, I think, the last election was just such a shock that I think people probably came out to vote more. So, definitely a lot of reasons but yeah, I think it is crazy that Biden got the most votes of any president ever. It doesn't say that he's the best candidate, it is just so many people voted this time around.

Ian: Exactly, that's really important to point out too. That doesn't necessarily equate to them being the best candidates or the most liked, it probably just that's a lot to do with the situation. And, like you said, a lot of those people who said after four years of Trump, we need a change, for whatever reason that might be. A really interesting one that I read about was, what is normally a red state—Arizona—went blue this year with a big number of Latinos, actually, voting for Biden when they voted for Trump four years ago. And a big part of that was them saying, you know, the Latino community has suffered from some of the highest death rates of COVID and it's clear that Trump doesn't care about our community, he’s not doing anything to help us out. At least Joe Biden's taking this issue seriously. And this caused a big vote swing in that state. So, it just goes to show you the importance that each candidate’s position on COVID, how it's really transformed the way people vote, even just after a short time of four years. There's a lot of really interesting demographics and dynamics that come into play.

Paige: Absolutely. I think this is the issue that Biden really ran his campaign on and I think that's why a lot of people, I think, are happy but also a little uncertain of what will happen when he takes office in January. What are restrictions going to look like? Are we going to go back in a lockdown? Are businesses are going to have to close? Are we going to have a push-out vaccinations? It's kind of unclear but definitely, he's the elected president, so he's already hired a task force, he's already tapped a lot of people to look into his plan on what he's going to do to tackle this pandemic. So, I think on day one in office, a lot of things are going to change, hopefully, for the better. I mean, hopefully, by next summer, maybe we can have normal lives. I mean, I think that's the goal. We'll see.

Ian: Yeah, fingers crossed. You know, it's always a big deal whenever the administration changes parties, changes cabinets, changes everything. Add on top of that, the second wave of a pandemic, it doesn't really help the situation. So, even though I think a lot of people are breathing a sigh of relief, they’re feeling a little bit better about the near future, we still have a long way to go. And just because Trump is presumably going to be leaving office doesn't mean our problems are over—far from it. So, we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed and keep faith that things will, hopefully, get better. Like you said, that's the hope.

Paige: I think it will be interesting to see inauguration day and how Trump acts because as of now, he's still denying the results. So, about a month away, hopefully, by then he will accept the results and because it's tradition that the seated president turns overpower, so they are there at Inauguration Day. They basically give the elected new president the keys. It's kind of a ceremony and so it'd be interesting if he just doesn't show up.

Ian: It's quite possible.

Paige: It really is. You could just see him flying off in a Trump plane being like, “Later.”

Ian: I think that's a pretty good possibility. So, like we said lots of things happening here in the next upcoming months. Even though election day is over, the results and what's to come next are far from over. So, everyone stay tuned to see what happens. Again, as always, if you get lost, go online and check out that audio guide and transcript. Thanks for listening.

Paige: We'll see you next time.

Paige: “Coffee with Gringos” was brought to you by Dynamic English, where you can learn English simply by using it. If you’re interested in taking classes or just want to learn more, go to our website at dynamicenglish.cl. Thanks for listening.

Key Vocabulary, Phrases & Slang:

 1.     supposedly (adverb): something generally assumed or believed even though it is not confirmed.

a.     They were angry, supposedly because no one told them the plan.  

2.     to concede (verb): to admit defeat.

a.     Even though he lost, he won’t concede to the results.

3.     contested (adjective): argued over or questioned.

a.     The contested results of the election caused anxiety among the people.

4.     to lose one’s edge (idiom): to not have a benefit or advantage that someone previously had.  

a.     He is losing his edge now that the results are showing no fraud.

5.     due diligence (noun): process taken to confirm the legality of something; to prove.

a.     It is important to follow due diligence in order to confirm the election is without fraud.

6.     temper tantrum (noun): uncontrolled moment of anger and frustration, usually with young children.

a.     He acts like a child with a temper tantrum when he doesn’t get his way.

7.     to drag (verb): to pull someone forcefully from a place or event.

a.     They might have to drag him out of the office if he refuses to leave.

8.     keep the ball rolling (idiom): to continue something.

a.     He is going to keep the ball rolling on his campaign until 2024. relieved

9.     relieved (adjective): no longer feeling anxious; relaxed; pleased.

a.     Many people are relieved with the results of the election.

10.  hands down (adjective): easily and without contesting.

a.     This has been hands down the most difficult year in recent times.

11.  lackadaisical (adjective): careless; lazy.

a.     People are upset because of how lackadaisical he has been regarding COVID.

12.  to take a backseat (idiom): given less importance; caring less about something.  

a.     The smaller problems we had before COVID have taken a backseat.

13.  attributed (adjective): being caused by (someone or something).

a.     The high voter turnout was attributed to people’s worries and anger.

14.  polls (noun): locations for people to vote.

a.     There were fewer people going to vote at the polls due to the pandemic.

15.  stakes (noun): risks or issues.

a.     The stakes were so high this year that we saw high voter turnout.

16.   to go blue (verb): when a state votes in favor of the Democrat Party, which is represented by the color blue.

a.     Arizona went blue this year after historically always voting red.

17.  to come into play (idiom): to help produce or influence a result.

a.     Lots of different factors come into play when determining the winner.

18.  lockdown (noun): forced isolation inside one’s home or other location.

a.     As cases continue to rise, it is likely we will return to lockdown.

19.  task force (noun): a unit or team specially organized to solve a task.

a.     He is already putting together his task force to solve the pandemic.

20.  to tackle (verb): to make efforts to deal with and solve a problem.

a.     He and his team are preparing to tackle the problems as soon as possible.

21.  cabinet (noun): committee of advisors to the president.

a.     There will soon be a new cabinet in office and will change policies.

22.  presumably (adverb): very likely to happen but is not for certain.

a.     We will presumably have new policies in the next months to combat the economic issues.

23.  inauguration day (noun): the day when the president is accepted and given their executive power.

a.     We will have new developments between now and inauguration day in January.

24.  seated (adjective): currently in power.

a.     The seated president will respond to the press in the next few weeks.