Two American couples, not very young, sit down for a late lunch at the McDonald's off Exit 121 on the highway from Miami to Cocoa Beach in Florida. "We've seen a lot of elections," Jason says. "I remember how they made fun of Ronald Reagan and he turned out to be one of the greatest presidents we've had. It's the same with the Democrats who love to laugh at [President Donald] Trump. But look at him, he's like a boy – he's 72 and look at that energy."
"It's not easy," he adds. "Look at my wife, and our friends – they voted Democrat because they have a labor union mentality."
For the benefit of anyone who may have forgotten, when Reagan announced his candidacy in 1979, he was viewed as a joke. Everyone wondered how a second-rate actor, and not a very good one, could possibly become the leader of the free world at the height of an arms race with the Soviet Union. But Reagan won over the hearts of the American voters, who wanted a president who was proud of America rather than one who groveled to America's enemies. They wanted a president who would stand up and speak his mind.
Reagan won the presidential election in 1980 and again in 1984. He also won the Cold War.
Jason's and his friends' openness comes in stark contrast with the discreet politeness that dominated the two voting stations I visited in northern Miami the day before. There, when I approached the voters in the long lines outside the polls, I was met with nothing but perfect decorum until I asked whom they voted for.
This year, the U.S. midterm elections have been so emotional that they have taken on the characteristics of a religious ritual – extremely personal. After all, politics are everywhere. Trump is everywhere and he speaks all the time. So this sacred experience that people are desperate to keep to themselves is actually happening at a time when the public is supremely and openly polarized.
Trump was banking on that. He hoped that what people were saying didn't accurately reflect what they really thought. He hoped that when it came time to put the ballot in the box, they would go with their hearts and vote for the booming economy he had given them. He hoped that they would vote in support of his ideas (even if they dislike his blunt manner of speaking). He hoped that they would instinctively recoil from Democrats who have failed to present any real solutions to the issues (like immigration, taxation, and law and order) that Trump was confronting, other than to raise taxes.
In reality, it is likely that many voters split their votes – voting for a Republican for Senate to retain the Republican majority and a Democrat for the House of Representatives to rein Trump in. The idea of a divided government is an inextricable part of the American experience, and it dovetails nicely with the spirit of the Constitution, which sought to decentralize federal power to give more independence to the individual states and prevent the administration from making any rash decisions.
I found that Democrats are generally much more willing to reveal how they voted than Republicans, and the way I see it, Republicans are generally more discreet. It seems as though they are ashamed of disagreeing with the overarching media narrative. This bodes well for the president, particularly in Florida – a crucial state. The daily attacks on Trump in all the major media outlets, with the exception of Fox News, are precisely what prompts Republicans to keep mum.
"Listen," says Gabriel, an 85-year-old Jewish pensioner, "I think he's a great president and so good for Israel but all my friends voted for Democrats. I can't recall any midterm election with so much tension and hostility between the camps. This isn't healthy for America."
Trump's son, Eric, was a guest on Fox News on the morning of the election, to campaign for his father and the Republican Party. In fact, the Trump family appeared to dominate the public discourse. While President Trump, who has given the American people excellent economic improvements, was impressing crowds at an election rally in Missouri, his son was invited to provide commentary. "My father needs to be given an opportunity to continue bringing success to America," Eric said. At the same time, the president said at the rally that if the Democrats win, they will launch a socialist revolution and triple the public's taxes.
Other campaign events highlighted appearances and declarations made by former President Barack Obama, who appeared out of nowhere to try to spur Democrats to go out and vote. Obama turned this election cycle into something very personal for him, jumping on the "anyone but Trump" bandwagon. This was a surprising move for a former president who wasn't vying for any public position. The Democrats managed to frame the election as a battle for the character of America but failed to offer any alternative. Paradoxical, I would say.
The voting station at Indian River State College in St. Lucie County, Florida, was overflowing with voters. "I am a Democrat," Auror told me. "It is important for me that the Democrats win so that balance will be restored in America."
Her friend, Rose, disagreed with the media claim that the election revolved exclusively around Trump. "There are is so much important legislation to pass here in Florida. Let's not lose sight of the fact that there are also domestic issues in our state."
History teaches us that U.S. presidents tend to take a hit in midterm elections, not because of anything they did or didn't do, but because the voters like to give presidents a hard time. And the fact is that this trend has yielded many achievements. In retrospect, it is safe to say that then-President Bill Clinton's painful defeat in the 1994 midterms, in which Republicans took control of both houses with impressive seat gains, essentially saved his administration. He was forced to align himself with Newt Gingrich's and the GOP's message and cut government spending, address the deficit and back initiatives that weren't necessarily what liberals would support. The result was immense economic growth and a second term for Clinton. Obama also continued on to win a second term after the difficult defeat in 2010.
A number of voters said to me that Trump would actually benefit from losing the House. If Democrats insist on torpedoing all his initiatives and refuse to cooperate with the reforms he is planning, he could use that to batter the Democrats in 2020, all but securing a second presidential term. Let's keep in mind that Trump isn't perceived as a radical politician – he's seen as an independent who isn't beholden to either party's agenda.
That is why he didn't go after every component of Obama's health care reform; that's why his stated views on the need to invest in American infrastructure sound very similar to the Democrats'; and, considering Trump's love of winning, he will make huge deals with the Democrats if he can take credit for the consequent triumph. He has done so much already for his right-wing base that he can afford such moves.
Trump is the kind of person who will give any campaign his all. Even if he was running for president of the PTA. The real winner in this midterm election was democracy, regardless of the outcome. Candidates were fighting for every vote up until the very last minute. In Arizona, the turnout record was shockingly broken in early voting before the polls even opened. In Florida, a bitter battle was waged, almost as if the state went back to its status of deciding state in 2000. Then, it was unclear who had won Florida for a month before George W. Bush claimed a razor-thin victory (by a majority of 537 votes) and became president.
A month from now, no one will be talking about the midterm elections. The only topic of interest will be the 2020 election. That's why Trump made a point of declaring his candidacy in every campaign rally, even if it wasn't officially. He concluded his last event, in Missouri, with a call for unity: "We are one people, one family and one glorious nation under God. And together with love in our hearts and hope in our souls we will make America wealthy again. We will make America strong again. We will make America safe again. And we will make America great again." Perhaps that message was directed at the Democrats.
Along the freeway, at the exit from Miami, I saw a truck driver stop and pull a lawn sign with the word "Vote" on it out of the grass. "Why?" I asked him.
"This will be a collectors' item," he told me. "Anything having to do with the Trump era will be worth a lot of money. I'm saving this for my grandkids.
