Ballot certification has been finished and the election results have been officially called by the Electoral College Joe Biden is the winner of the election, winning both the popular vote 51.33% to 46.96% and the electoral vote 306 to 232. 

This election has had its share of controversies however; one of which is Trump declaring voter fraud in swing states such as Georgia, Pennsylvania and Michigan. As 

inauguration day draws near and Trump wins only one of at least 57 lawsuits against the suspected voter fraud and the ballot certification process being completed, a peaceful transition can be expected. 

Trump knew that he needed to keep his supporters loyal for this election in order to win, 

“Trump began campaigning the day after his inauguration.  Sitting presidents do not typically hold rallies throughout their term or use white house backdrops for their campaign outreach, but he did. ” said Trena Kirby, social studies teacher at Athens Drive. 

Another difference between Trump and Biden’s campaign is Trump’s use of  fear mongering “Negativity and fear are common (and often effective) campaign strategies, and you can see a lot of this in the Trump campaign ads,” said Kirby.

“The campaign advertisements played continuously, as we all remember, with various messages and focus – Trump promoted ‘law and order’, ‘the far left take over’, ‘Hunter Biden’, ‘taxes.’ Biden promoted ‘social justice’, ;economic recovery’,’saving America’s soul’ – each catered to their party’s base supporters, ” said Michael Robbins, US history teacher at Athens Drive. 

When looking at Biden’s campaign however, he seemed to appeal to Americans who want to see change.

 “The Biden campaign seemed to focus more on looking ahead at what the US can improve but was also very general in its message in terms of actual policy.” said Kirby. 

Biden’s campaign also used issues that Trump’s administration had failed to respond to, such as COVID19, to appeal to moderate conservatives who were unsatisfied with their parties candidates response to them. This can be seen in things like Biden’s rallies where everyone was required to social distance and wear a mask, something that Trump failed to do at his rallies. 

This election is also very significant as several traditionally red states went blue this year,  “Obama won about 47% in Georgia in 2008 and John Kerry 41% earlier. Biden received 49%. The traditional Red State has been moving into swing state territory and will likely remain “purple” Democrats are making gains through grassroots efforts led by former governor candidate Stacey Abrams and the shifting demographics of suburban counties like Gwinnett and Fulton which were constantly referenced during the GA absentee ballot counts. Other swing states like Florida and Ohio may be losing their classification as they have been tilting red for quite some time now, with the exception of Obama’s victory in 2008. For future elections, Georgia is now up for grabs as well as other states with implications for the legislative agenda in Congress,” said Robbins.

Another reason Trump lost Georgia are the demographics there. In states like Michigan where the primary demographic is white voters, around 80%, consisting of moderates who voted for Trump in 2016,  voted for Biden in 2020. The difference in states like Georgia  where the Afrecian American demographic is much larger, about 30% compared to Michigan’s 14%. Issues like police brutality and Black Lives Matter left African Americans feeling misrepresented by Trump’s administration to vote for Biden. 

Trump’s failure cannot be attributed to one primary reason, however, it is a multitude  of issues that occurred during his presidency, 

“Historians will debate this, but I believe that Trump lost the election because of a couple major developments in 2020. There was an appeal for Biden by many that had an aversion to Trump’s rhetoric – interestingly it is this aggressive rhetoric and breaking of norms that contributed to his success in 2016, Educated Republicans who gave Trump a chance in 2016, were put off by him throughout his presidency, COVID19 and the administration’s handling of it, social unrest especially following the George Floyd murder this summer, lack of fulfillment of 2016 promises by moderate Republicans,” said Robbins.

This election is very interesting when compared to 2016’s,

 “When Trump first announced, lots of people thought it was a joke.  Boy were they wrong. The election of 2016 really highlighted the fact that presidential campaigns aren’t necessarily about issues.  People like the glitz and the show, and love to talk about politics if/when they can discuss it like they would a sporting event.  We don’t like to think too hard about issues like federal spending and foreign policy; we much prefer slogans and promises of straightforward outcomes (Build the Wall, Lock her Up, Make American Great Again vs I’m with Her).  Above all, Trump is a showman,and he understands what appeals to people and gets them on board.  Every candidate really needs to have some element of that, and Clinton really didn’t.  Even though he has very little in common with the typical Trump voter, he is able to communicate with them in a way that they feel is much more personal than philosophical, and the connection worked for him in 2016,” said Kirby.