Early analysis of the results of the 2020 presidential election underscore the deep divisions in our country. President Donald Trump garnered 8 million more votes this time than he received in 2016. He won solid majorities among white males. He was favored by both the wealthiest voters and those without a college degree. President Elect Biden won more votes than any candidate in history, winning majorities of African Americans, women and first-time voters.
The President remains recalcitrant and defiant, refusing to concede and waging legal fights that claim fraud. Senior Republican leaders are going to bat for him, as they gird for two Senate run-off elections in Georgia on January 5 that could end Republican control of the Senate.
The Biden-Harris ticket ran on a platform of uniting the country, a challenge that seems substantial, to say nothing of the challenges of arresting the Coronavirus, restoring the economy, addressing racial inequity and climate change, and rebuilding relationships with our allies.
Eugene Scott is a reporter with the Washington Post. He writes about identity politics for The Fix and hosts a new podcast miniseries hosted on Amazon Music called The Next Four Years. The series examines what the outcome of the 2020 election tells us about the country's profound political and social divisions, and how they are affecting Americans' sense of a shared national identity. Eugene Scott joins Tom on Zoom.
