Содержание выпуска: November 16, 2020 — TIME Magazine

THE CAR HORNS BLARED AS JOE BIDEN TOOK THE stage just before 1 a.m.—not to proclaim victory, but to urge his supporters not to lose hope, no matter what President Donald Trump might say. “We believe we are on track to win this election,” the former Vice President told the crowd in Wilmington, Del., on Nov. 4. “It ain’t over until every vote is counted. Keep the faith, guys.” As the new day dawned and dragged on, it increasingly looked as though Biden was right. Having flipped Michigan, Arizona and Wisconsin, Biden appeared to be inching toward victory. Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina remained too close to call as of the evening of Nov. 4. Independent forecasters believed Biden was likely to eke out the requisite 270 electoral votes…

ON THE MORNING OF ELECTION DAY, AMERICANS faced two competing narratives. On the one hand, there was a veritable avalanche of polling data indicating the possibility—even probability—of a blue-wave election not seen since Barack Obama’s 2008 rout of John McCain. On the other hand, we had decades of data and experience telling us that America was closely (and intensely) divided. Americans are by and large entrenched in their political and cultural tribes, and virtually nothing can budge them. As the votes started to roll in, and the hopes of a blue-wave election dissipated, the electoral outcome grew momentarily cloudy just as the underlying national realities grew ever more clear. Once again, the polls were wrong. America remains deeply polarized, few voters are truly persuadable, and angry gridlock will likely dominate…

IT’S ONLY FITTING THAT THE MOST DIVISIVE U.S. election in recent memory would end in a most divisive election-eve finish—one that will have consequences for America’s standing in the world. As of this writing, the ballot count continues to be under way. President Donald Trump wasted little time before declaring victory, setting himself up to later claim that his opponents were trying to “steal” the election. For Trump—a President who has shown remarkably little concern for the long-term health and legitimacy of U.S. democracy—refusing to concede makes all the sense in the world. Beyond the powers of the presidency itself, Trump’s current and future command of the Republican Party is at stake, as is his ability to use the powers of the presidency to shield himself from financial and…

‘Our fellow citizens are not our enemies.’MITCH MCCONNELL, Senate majority leader, on Nov. 3, declaring victory over challenger Amy McGrath to win a seventh term ‘I AM VOTING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE FOR THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND IT’S FOR SOMEONE I TRULY TRUST … ME.’KANYE WEST, musician and independent 2020 candidate, on Nov. 3; across 12 states, West received about 60,000 votes ‘IT’S NOT THE SUPER BOWL. NOBODY’S GOING TO HOIST A TROPHY ON ELECTION NIGHT.’MARYBETH KUZNIK, the sole election official of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, in a pre-election interview with the New York Times, on counting votes in the hours after polls close on Nov. 3 ‘Today, we take this fight for Black Lives from the streets of Ferguson to the halls of…

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP COMMANDED an early lead in Michigan on Nov. 3, only for Joe Biden to gain the advantage the next morning. The opposite was true in Ohio: Biden appeared ahead right after the polls closed on Election Night, only for Trump to overtake his lead around 10 p.m. What gives? While the President raged about the disparities on Twitter, baselessly insinuating that the whiplash was the result of fraud or malfeasance, the real answer is simple: mail-in ballots are counted at different times, and at different rates, in different states. In Michigan, Trump appeared to be ahead among ballots cast in person, but when mail ballots were tallied, that lead evaporated. In Ohio, Biden appeared to be ahead among mail ballots, but when in-person votes were chalked up,…

IF THESE WERE NORMAL TIMES, MOVIE LOVERS would now be gearing up for the holiday season, when big studios splash out with their flashiest work. But with so many theaters unable to safely reopen—and with the movie industry itself in a holding pattern—the upcoming awards season will be like no other. Some pundits have suggested canceling the Academy Awards altogether. What good is an awards season without the usual parade of dazzling Hollywood product? The answer, actually, is that a break from awards-season madness could be pretty great—if we can adjust our notion of what an awards contender ought to be, and if we can come to honest terms with how we, as movie lovers, feel about the big-screen experience. For years now, I’ve been fielding arguments from people who…

‘IT’S NOT MY PLACE OR DONALD TRUMP’S PLACE TO DECLARE WHO’S WON THIS ELECTION. THAT’S THE DECISION OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.’—JOE BIDEN, at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Del., just after midnight on Nov. 4 ‘WE’LL BE GOING TO THE U.S. SUPREME COURT.’—DONALD TRUMP, in the East Room of the White House early on the morning of Nov. 4 THE BIG EVENT, BY THE NUMBERS As of Nov. 4 at 6 p.m., neither Biden nor Trump could claim victory. Here’s how their stats compare. —Emily Barone GETTING OUT THE VOTE With an eager electorate—as well as pandemic-related changes to the voting process, including expanded early and mail-in voting—most states saw increased voter turnout compared with 2016 BUILDING A VICTORY With 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House,…

IN THE WEE HOURS OF THE MORNING AFTER ELECTION Day, state officials were still tallying millions of mail-in and absentee ballots in key battleground states, and the presidential race remained too close to call. But that didn’t stop President Donald Trump from gathering his supporters in the East Room of the White House, falsely asserting he had already won, and promising he would challenge future election results in court. “We’ll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court,” he said. “We want all voting to stop. We don’t want them to find any ballots at 4 o’clock in the morning and add them to the list.” By the time the sun had risen, the Trump campaign had taken its cue, with top advisers calling for multiple lawsuits on the grounds that…

IN THE WEEKS BEFORE THE NOV. 3 ELECTION, as polling suggested that former Vice President Joe Biden might stand on the precipice of a landslide victory, many who had spent the past four years fighting President Donald Trump took solace in a silver lining: Trump, with his egregious behavior and his penchant for saying the quiet part out loud, had removed a bandage that in recent decades has hidden America’s deepest defects on race. In doing so, many of his opponents believed, he had presented us with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix them. But election night brought a shock, if not a surprise, for those eager for the country to turn over a new leaf. While Biden remains favored to collect enough electoral votes to win and become the…

SHELBY PARKER PLANNED TO GET PREGNANT this year. The timing seemed right: She was working as a middle-school teacher in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, a job that provided benefits for her whole family. Her husband, who drives a truck for FedEx, had just gotten a promotion. Their 21-month-old daughter was nearly ready for preschool. Now Parker, 29, is contemplating not trying for a second child at all. The state, deprived of tax revenues because of business closures resulting from the coronavirus, cut public-school funding by $300 million. The school has warned teachers that there may be a round of layoffs before the end of the year. As the pandemic rages on, Parker and her husband worry that she could end up out of work. If that happens, they’ll be left without…

WHEN QUARANTINE TIMES BEGAN, EVERYONE AROUND ME started making sourdough. I baked cakes. Nothing against bread; I just crave the precision of a layer cake, the fiddly work, as it’s called on The Great British Baking Show, a comfort series that I rewatched while making comfort cakes, tarts and galettes. Bread is a staple, but cake brings joy. For me, it’s always been that way. My family arrived in the U.S. as refugees from Vietnam at the end of the war, in 1975. We were resettled in Michigan, in a conservative town where I grew up not knowing what to do with all the racism we experienced. I was a shy child who had nightmares and fears. My whole family was anxious, but no one talked about trauma. We didn’t…