Donald Trump has claimed victory in a speech in Florida despite some swing states still counting votes.
The former President, 78, declared himself the 47th President saying, “Every citizen I will fight for you, with every breath in my body,”
“I will not rest until we have delivered the strong safe and prosperous America that we deserve. This will truly be the golden age of America,” says Trump.
Millions of Americans headed to the polls across the United States to choose between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris in a historic presidential race, in what was seen earlier as too close to call. Among the action were Māori who were feeling not only the hype but also the discontent and division.
‘The road to 270′ - that’s the least 270 electoral votes Vice-President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump each need to win the presidency.
Talking to Te Ao Maori News in front of the White House in Washington D.C, commentator Shane Te Pou said he could feel everyone was on edge,
“The vibe is intense, security is high, and I‘m on what they call the South lawn, it‘s only because the main entrance or the main fence line has been boarded off. So you can see it‘s intense, it‘s high and I’ve walked passed hotels and they‘ve started to border up, it‘s a city, it’s a country on edge.”
The stakes between the two Presidential candidates could not be higher, with swing states being crucial. Te Pou says black and Hispanic voters are critical, “I‘ve spent a lot of time in one of the critical swing states in Pennsylvania. The vibe I’ve got, particularly over the last couple of days, is that Kamala has got some traction.”
And for other Māori living under the same roof unable to vote, they agree tensions are high.
Moana Moleni (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou) a high school teacher says “In my classroom today, I had students fighting in class on who they were supporting and that would’ve come forward from the home. So there’s a lot of anxiety and there’s a lot of differences within different states and different households and even families, to the point that families are actually fighting over it.”
Living in Saratoga Springs, in Utah, known as a red state or a republican state, Moleni says she has been a Trump supporter since living in the United States for over 7 years. For Pauline Stokes (Te Rarawa, Ngati Whatua, Ngati Wai, Te Aupouri) this will be the second election she has seen, and has lived across three red states in Missouri, Tennesse and now Utah, however, she supports Kamala Harris’s policies.
“She (Harris) wants to have more of a sustainable environment over here as well as healthcare. I’ve always been a strong advocate for free healthcare,” says Stokes.
But Moleni argues that Biden’s administration hasn’t addressed key issues, such as inflation, rising crime, and day-to-day struggles like living costs. “With Trump being the better choice, it’s probably because he’s got economic policies in place that have been successful and he’s proven himself before,”
And those here back at Wellingtons' US Embassy are closely watching the action.
US Political Analyst Chris Ellison says, “I think nobody has a good read on the outcome on what it will likely to be. All of the publicly available polling suggests its going to be a very close outcome.”
For Te Pou, though he is predicting Kamala Harris for the win, “I think the results will be wider than a lot of people have anticipated but e te whānau listen carefully, you never know until it’s over.
Months of intense campaigning, a race rocked by historic events two assassination attempts against Trump, President Joe Biden’s abrupt withdrawal, and Harris’s quick ascent. As experts have said it’s definitely going to be a close race.