Joe Biden | Photo by Sean Rayford | Getty Images
Students at Wright State University (WSU) believe that Joe Biden will help the United States come together as president and that President Trump’s claims of election fraud have little evidence.
Election night thoughts
Psychology major Cody Daniel expected the election to be close during the night of Nov. 3.
“Both candidates seemed to be strongly disliked by large groups on both sides,” said Daniel. “This election had a lesser-of-two-evils kind of feel to it.”
Business student Julian Greenwell was not surprised that Biden was elected because of the influence of the media and the movement encouraging voters to cast their ballots. He anticipated the controversy that would come with the 2020 election.
“I was slightly concerned, though, because whenever Biden got elected, I knew that there was going to be a lot of controversy, as there always is during an election,” said Greenwell. “I was just waiting to find out how everyone was going to handle it.”
History major Nolan Hall was working when he was informed that Biden had won the election.
“I checked my phone and saw that Biden won Pennsylvania and that the other states that were to follow in his favor were now of no consequence by that point,” said Hall. “Trump had been beaten and at his own game, might I add. Where Trump may have had the rural populations snowed in his favor, he failed to claim the major city centers where it mattered most, such as he had done in 2016.”
Reactions to Biden winning
Hall was relieved that Biden was elected due to a strong dislike for President Trump. Biden, to him, had the best chance of winning against Trump.
“I couldn’t have cared less if it were a Democrat or Republican that was running against Trump,” said Hall. “The man inherited so many things from the last administration that people credit him for and he has destabilized our country on the world stage, which for me as a history major is a very disturbing thing to see on so many levels because the fall of a country is usually not too far behind.”
Daniel finds the election of Biden to be bittersweet, though he is content with Biden’s choice of vice president.
“While I’m glad that the man who thinks the virus is no longer an issue is out of the White House, Biden wasn’t exactly my first choice,” said Daniel. “However, I am glad that Kamala Harris is the vice president-elect. Biden seems representative of the previous generation’s Democrats, while Harris seems more progressive.”
Lawsuits and allegations of fraud
After Biden won the election by a margin of 306-232, Trump filed lawsuits in at least six states, demanding recounts and alleging widespread voter fraud. Greenwell is not sure if these claims are valid, though videos from social media have added fuel to the fire.
“You see a lot of things on social media,” said Greenwell. “You see videos and allegations of people throwing out ballots, so it just gets you thinking about if these people are going to publicly post videos of themselves throwing away ballots, how many other people are doing this and not taking a video of it? Then again, you also have to think that even if they did find some type of voter fraud, would it be enough to overturn the popular vote? There’s a bunch of what-ifs.”
Organizational leadership student Logan Castleman believes that the Trump administration was ready for something like this to happen, though such an incident may not have occurred in the manner the media reported it.
“With the videos of people throwing away the mail-in ballots, it’s not right, but those could have been Joe Biden votes as well and not just have been Trump’s,” said Castleman. “I feel like the media portrayed that it was just Trump’s votes.”
Daniel believes that there is little to no evidence supporting Trump’s claims.
“There being enough fraud for it to matter would require coordination of hundreds of thousands of people, which is highly unlikely,” said Daniel. “Trump lost, and he should just concede.”
A Biden presidency
Representatives from the electoral college will be meeting to cast their votes for president on Dec. 14. Greenwell believes that Trump was a solid president with his policies, and he is nervous about a Biden presidency.
“I’m not sure if he has a plan, as far as the lockdown goes, with handling COVID,” said Greenwell. “He claims he does, but then again, members of his cabinet also say that they don’t have a plan. It’s all over the place.”
Greenwell is also concerned about fracking during the Biden presidency, because it will raise the price of gas and other necessary items.
“That’s a little concerning, but when it comes to Biden and him being so personable, I think that that is a positive of his, and I think he can bring the country together,” said Greenwell.
Daniel believes that if Biden is inaugurated come January, there is one issue the president may not focus on like expected.
“My biggest concern is that he won’t focus on combating climate change as much as we need him to,” said Daniel. “I’m relieved he won, but to say I’m totally comfortable with Biden would be false.”
