Notes from New York during the U.S. presidential election
By now you all know the news. Donald J. Trump will be the 47th President of the United States of America.
After attending the Brownstone Institute conference in Pittsburgh over the weekend, I came to New York City for some heavy duty tourism. I had no idea my dates coincided with the U.S. presidential election at the time I booked it, but was quite excited when I clocked the timing.
So, being in NYC, I went to my first ever election watch party on Tuesday night. Most of the people there were aligned with independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s campaign, nicknamed MAHA (Make America Healthy Again).
These are people who were previously aligned with the Democrat Party but defected to Kennedy in dismay at what the establishment party has become, and in hope for what the anti-establishment ‘Unity Ticket’ coalition can achieve with a four year term.
For those who don’t know, the Unity Ticket is the coalition of former Democrat RFKJ and his running mate Nicole Shanahan throwing their support behind Republicans Trump and JD Vance. Also lending weight to the coalition is former Democrat Congresswoman and now independent, Tulsi Gabbard.
In swing states, RFKJ took his name off the ballot and encouraged his base to vote for Trump. In turn, RFKJ will have a role in the new Trump administration.
In the lead up to the election, these MAHA volunteers pounded the pavement handing out leaflets, selling merch and knocking on doors. One young man I met visited two and a half thousand homes in Pennsylvania urging disenchanted Republicans to get out and vote.
The Covid authoritarianism was a common turning point - these people definitely want to turn the page, but not in the way Harris was selling it.
The general feeling was one of optimism and goodwill. I keep reading online that the MAGA movement is driven by hate, but there was no hate in this room of MAGA allies - it was an open hearted affair.
When I left at 1am, Trump was ahead but hadn’t yet won. When I woke up, he’d won both the electoral and the popular votes in a landslide.
New York being a blue state, this morning I expected to see protests in the street, or at least to hear people complaining about the result. But other than overhearing the odd moan over air pods, the only protest I saw was the New York Times Tech Guild, which is on strike for better pay and conditions.
It was the same before the election too. I arrived in Manhattan as a first time tourist a couple of days out fully expecting to see vote-related billboards, leafleting and other activities in the streets, but no.
You would not have known there was an election taking place, but for a single poster of Kamala Harris trying to be MAGA without being MAGA, which I saw Downtown.
Neither did I overhear anyone discussing the election or how they wanted to vote.
I had hoped to ask as many people as possible how they intended to vote but have so far found that, with some exceptions, New Yorkers mostly don’t make eye contact unless absolutely necessary, and they expertly rebuff friendly chit chat.
I did get to ask a few people, though.
An Egyptian migrant cab driver who voted for Trump because he’s struggling with the increased cost of living and wants the economy to improve so he can support his wife and three children.
A Malaysian migrant souvenir shop worker who voted for Trump because she said when the media hates someone too much, it’s a giveaway.
A Ghanian migrant tourism worker who voted for Harris because she came from an immigrant background too, and he felt an affinity with her on that.
Two men at a real estate meet up event in Central Park, neither of whom voted because they’re ‘not political.’
I saw a grim Jen Psaki (former Biden White House Press Secretary) in a bagel shop. She very nicely caught my attention when the bagel server was calling for me. I should have asked her what she thought of the election result but didn’t want to interrupt her lunch.
If anything, the subdued streets are perhaps a reminder that the world online is not a mirror of the world offline. Online, people can be obsessive, hyper-partisan, haranguing total strangers without thinking twice. In the streets, people are largely going about their business, dealing with the day as it comes - election results and all.
Other notes from NYC
I am seeing a lot of New Yorkers in cute uniform hats. Police, UPS drivers, tourism operators. They have the uniform, and then they have a smart matching hats.
They leave trash bags in the street for collection. Makes sense, but makes the city look like a tip site.
I have passively inhaled a fair bit of weed since I arrived. Weed is legal here, so there are stores where you can stroll in and buy cannabis products.
The energy is generally unfriendly. Being from Perth, I have a high bar for public friendliness. In Perth, people walking along a trail or path will nod at each other and even say good morning. Here, everyone just barrels past each other. This woman and her four identical dogs looked so cute I ran up to her and asked to take a photo. She didn’t crack a smile or look up, just muttered ‘sure’ and kept walking briskly forward. I awkwardly backwards ran, snapped my photo, and then peeled off as she marched on completely ignoring me. This is the vibe.
Central Park is pretty in the fall.
People can pay for their groceries by scanning their palm. I took this photo at Whole Foods, where the checkout worker told me that members can link their palm scan up to their debit card to shop with biometrics.
I’m off to enjoy my last night in the Big Apple. Meanwhile, if you’d like to watch the Brownstone Institute conference panel talks, some of them have now been uploaded to the website. You can view them here.
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Thank you for your commentary on your travel experience Rebekah, so good to be at ground zero. The Divine put you there for a reason. I sincerely hope that Trump will honour the support RFK jr has given him for the sake of the people of U.S.A. and all people. Happy to see the people rise against the tyranny of the sitting govt. I prayed for whichever candidate was best for their country to win. I trust that has happened.🙏🌈
Well I found that a refreshingly pleasant read, hinting optimism that MAHA may eventually translate to some MAuHA. We can hope.