It started from the elevator going up to the Democratic election night, on the 4th floor of The Park, a bar a stone’s throw from the White House. “I’m very nervous,” slips a lady with graying hair. In the room lined with screens all on the left-wing channel MSNBC, the mood at the start of the evening was still one of cautious optimism. “I find the idea of having the first woman president exciting, I am proud that Kamala Harris has come this far and she is going to defend the right to abortion. But I am anxious,” admits Chris, a young black man with long braids.
“She is qualified but I would have liked her to be less stuffy, to run a better campaign.” He is interrupted by cheers. The television announces that Kamala Harris has won Maryland. His companion Sanan in a bright red dress, employed in real estate, said at that time she was confident in the victory of the vice-president. “But I was also for Hillary Clinton in 2020,” she confides. Lauri Watzman, a sixty-year-old wearing a magnificent cap decorated with mini-figures of Kamala Harris and a “It’s Harris or Hell” badge, also wants to believe in the Democratic victory. “I sold a lot of caps, so that’s a good sign. I sold a lot of them when Barack Obama won.”
As the evening progresses and more and more states fall into the Republican camp, faces become tense. Kennetra, an elegant lady, stares intently at the screen where the results follow one another. “It’s terribly stressful. I have faith in humanity but sometimes it lets you down. All I have to do is pray,” she says, sipping a Democrarita cocktail. On the menu, there is also “Blue State punch” (The Blue states are the democratic states), or even “Madame VP”…
It’s a tradition. Every four years in Washington, bars celebrate the election with an onslaught of creativity. The Cork Wine Bar and Market offers a dinner for $47, in reference to the 47th President of the United States. The Krispy Kreme chain is offering a free donut to people who voted. The Union Pub, a stone’s throw from the Capitol, serves an “Orange cocktail”, in honor of Donald Trump’s hair, and another called “They drink cats”, a nod to the conspiracy theory propagated by Donald Trump and JD Vance who accused Haitians in Ohio of eating dogs and chanting.
Another bar, another atmosphere. Across town, on H Street, Dirty Water, a sports bar, hosted an election night for Republicans, a minority in Washington. However, there are many of them because we are crashing. There are mainly young men there who paid 35 dollars for entry. Here we watch Fox News on the screens and drink beer in a good drunken mood. At 10 p.m., the room explodes. It has just been announced that Bernie Moreno, the Republican, defeated Sherrod Brown, the outgoing senator from Ohio who has been in office for 18 years. There is something to brag about. Republicans are now sure to regain control of the Senate. “USA, USA!”, chants the crowd. “I was a little hesitant given the polls but there we had the Senate and it seems that Trump is ready to win North Carolina and Georgia. Things are looking good,” summarizes Johnny, red Make America cap Great Again screwed to the skull. When asked what themes are important to him, he answers, “inflation and wars.”
Same concerns for Gabriel who works in marketing. He hopes that Donald Trump, once elected, will improve the economy and “bring peace” to Ukraine and the Middle East… “I am stunned by these results. Trump is in the lead in the majority of key states, I do not ‘didn’t expect that,’ he said, still in shock. Certainly, he admits, the Republican candidate has some “peculiarities”, when asked what he thought of his mime of fellatio during an electoral rally. But like all Trumpists, he is ready to give him everything. “It’s Trump, he is like that. I have faith in his advisors, they will channel him into the White House. He is better prepared and will be a more classic president than in 2016 when he was an outsider.” On Instagram, the bar wrote: “We’re rolling for Trump and plan to pop the champagne when we win.” They may not have long to wait.
Among Democrats, on the other hand, the mood is increasingly gloomy. Leah, a young black girl dressed in a “Madam President” t-shirt, is depressed: “If Donald Trump wins, I’m going to cry,” she says. Fortunately, Le Diplomate, a very forward-looking restaurant not far away, is offering a small bag for election night which contains a packet of tissues. For tears of joy. Or despair.