The Difference Between Trump Voters and Biden Voters

November 10, 2020

Joe Biden is now president-elect of the United States.

In my last post, Why This Win Might Not Feel Like a Win, I discussed how, even though Trump was about to lose the election, I was still depressed by the sheer number of people who'd voted for him, and did not think I would feel like celebrating even if Biden was announced as the official victor.

The closer it became to reality, though, the more I began to think I was wrong about not wanting to celebrate. The more it seemed like the nightmare of a Trump presidency would finally be over -- the more I thought about what it meant, not only for this country, but for the world -- the more emotional it made me. Thinking of all the lives that could potentially be saved under a better leader, that maybe we won't be as hated by the rest of the world anymore, that at least we'll have someone in the White House who won't cheer on white supremacists and refuse to leave office upon being voted out, I did begin to feel like celebrating. Which I did on Saturday when the race was finally called.

For me and many others, celebrating Biden's win, as well as voting for him to begin with, was never about a love for Biden himself, but about getting rid of a dictator in the making, taking a step (big, small, or anywhere in between) in the right direction.

The differences between Trump and Biden are clear when you look at both their words and their actions, but what might be even more important than that are the differences between their supporters. Trump's supporters are more loyal to Trump than to America. Biden's supporters are more loyal to America than to Biden.

This election cycle, I am definitely a Biden voter, but I wouldn't consider myself a Biden supporter. Someday, I do hope to be able to vote for a candidate I actually support and believe in; until then, I'll vote for whatever feels closest to that goal. Some people do consider themselves Biden supporters, though, and some may have even been fans of his for years. But whether their fondness for "Uncle Joe" is long-lasting and strong, or they simply voted for him because they viewed him as the lesser of two evils, I can't imagine any of his supporters becoming as cult-like as Trump's.

Even the staunch Democrats who truly view this as a huge victory for themselves and their party... I just can't picture them waving giant Biden flags from their trucks over the next four years, wearing hats with his name or slogan on them on a daily basis, saying that he was sent by God, or fawning over him like preteen girls over Justin Bieber (or whoever it is they fawn over now; I might be a bit behind the times when it comes to this topic).

Sure, some of them are gloating now, but I think it's mostly because of a combination of sheer relief and the treatment they experienced from Trump supporters over the past four years. I can't really blame them for wanting to rub it in, in the exact same manner and words ("F*** your feelings," anyone?), just to troll Trump and his supporters now that the tables have turned. There's a lot of laughter and joy right now; and believe me, it isn't just Americans. People in the rest of the world are celebrating with us, congratulating us for toppling a dictator before things could get even worse than they already had. This tweet from Bryan Behar on Twitter says it all:

Let people have their moment. But with time, I am sure the excitement will die down. There will be another surge of it on Inauguration Day, assuming there isn't actually a way Trump can postpone the inauguration with his BS lawsuits, but eventually, once everyone gets used to the new administration, things will go back to normal. Now, I've made it clear that I don't think normal was ever that great anyway and that we still have a lot of work to do; but after the past four years, normal will still feel like a big improvement.

Although I don't want it to make people complacent and feel like they can stop fighting for change, it will be such a huge relief to know that, at the very least, we no longer have a cult leader as president.

As relieved as I am to get Trump out of office, I think I am even happier to be dethroning him as leader of a dangerous cult that seems to view him as the second coming of Jesus in spite of the fact that he is against everything Jesus taught. The disease that led to Trump being elected will still be there, but without their poster boy, I hope the members of this cult won't be as bold or as dangerous. The fact that he can do no wrong whatsoever in their eyes is one of the truly scary things about his presidency. I simply cannot imagine Biden supporters ever being so passionate about their leader that they would accept anything he says as gospel. If I catch them doing that over the next few years, I'll call them out on it, but it's hard to imagine it happening to begin with. Biden supporters view Biden as a politician. Trump supporters view Trump as a god.

I've never seen any other politician with a following like this.

Between that, and his refusal to peacefully concede upon losing an election, his opponent Biden's victory, while not ideal, makes it a bit easier for people to breathe. Even if somehow there was no difference between the two of them when it comes to policies, demeanor, intelligence, racism, bullying, and so forth, there is at least a huge difference in the way their supporters treat them. I know I have used the word "cult" a lot in this article, but I can't really stress it enough: they are a cult. A literal cult. Okay, I promise not to say it anymore throughout the rest of this.

I, for one, have been holding back any criticism of Biden and Harris for months despite being not entirely thrilled with their nominations, because I didn't want it to be taken as an endorsement of Trump and Pence. Unfortunately one of the assumptions people tend to make about U.S. politics is that if you criticize one candidate, you support their opponent. All of our political ads count on this; instead of telling us what they can do for us, every candidate's commercials just talk about how bad their opponent is. I didn't want to say anything that would lead people to believe I supported or endorsed Trump in any way, especially in case someone was impressionable enough to take my comments as an indication that they should support or endorse him too.

But once Biden and Harris actually become president and vice-president, all bets are off. I can and will criticize their policies if they aren't to my satisfaction, do whatever is in my power to put pressure on them to create policies that are in the best interest of the people, and continue protesting when they do something I think is unjust or immoral. The Resistance movement isn't just about Trump; it's about all the things that were responsible for Trump coming into power in the first place.

Our elected officials work for us. They are public servants, and it is our right to criticize them and pressure them to do better. Regardless of whether they're from our chosen party or not, whether we voted for them or not, or whether we've previously agreed with them or not.

I am not the only one who's willing to speak out against the new administration if they wind up being problematic. I've seen many people who agree with me on this, whether they are party-unaffiliated like myself, or loyal to the Democratic party. That is something we could never expect from most Trump voters, who let him go unchecked as he ranted and rampaged, believing every word that came out of his mouth (or that he posted to Twitter). Although a small handful of Republicans eventually began to publicly denounce him, it was far too little too late. Another small handful initially didn't want him, but were so spineless that with time they decided to suck up to him anyway. *cough* Lindsey Graham...

At this time, it seems the majority of Biden voters are ready, from the get-go, to hold our candidate accountable in any way within our power. We want change, and thankfully, our president-elect seems more responsive and willing to listen to others' concerns than his predecessor. While none of us are expecting a utopia, we hope that our voices will at least be better heard.

However, while we are on the subject of criticizing elected officials, there is one last thing I'd like to make clear: no matter how much I might criticize -- and the amount will depend on exactly what the new administration actually does over the next four years -- it will never involve personal traits such as Kamala Harris' race, gender or appearance. I don't care how much you dislike her as VP, I won't tolerate sexist or racist comments about her.

I strongly dislike most of the women (and men) of Trump's administration, but there are so many negative things to comment on without bringing their appearance into it. Kamala, as a woman of color and a Democrat, is going to be subjected to even more vile comments, simply for existing in her own skin, and that isn't okay. You can criticize her policies all you want, you can criticize her for her "top cop" history, which is understandably not what people wanted during a movement to stop police brutality; but it is never, ever acceptable to make racist or misogynistic comments about someone just because you don't like them as a person or a politician. This is a hill I will die on.

tags: politics, elections, election day 2020, joe biden, kamala harris, trumpism