Election 2020 results: Live reactions

Nov. 7 will be a day for the history books. This morning, Joseph R. Biden Jr. won the 2020 presidential election, beating incumbent Donald J. Trump by 290 to 214 electoral votes. Kamala Harris’ win also marks a series of firsts for this nation: she will become the first female vice president and the first Black and Indian American vice president.

Below, we have gathered the reactions to the election results from members of our Harker community. Continue reloading this page to see updates throughout the day and to hear what students, teachers and parents are thinking about right now.

7:45 p.m. Check out this live reaction from senior Ethan Choi about how he became involved in political activism and what Biden’s win means to him:

7:15 p.m. Check out this live reaction from senior Selin Aras about Biden’s presidency and being politically vocal:

6:00 p.m. “A lot of his actions were divisive; a lot of his actions were targeted rhetoric at individuals in the Democratic Party,” a junior said. “It should have been very easy for him to get reelected, because he was faced with the pandemic, and throughout history, when you’re a leader and you’re faced with something which tests the soul of the nation, if you do at least a decent job, your popularity will skyrocket.”

4:30 p.m. Check out this live reaction about voting trends and the nation’s global image from David Reed, who is Canadian and a parent of an upper school student:

4:15 p.m. Check out this live reaction from upper school math teacher Lola Muldrew about the personal significance of Harris’ win:

3:20 p.m. Check out this live reaction from sophomore Lavanya Subramanian about what Harris’ win means to her, as an Indian American:

2:45 p.m. Check out this live reaction from freshman Defne Avkarogullari about the future Biden presidency.

2:30 p.m. Check out this live reaction from upper school English teacher Beth Wahl about the 2020 election process and her opinions on Biden:

2:00 p.m. Check out this live reaction from freshman Om Tandon about his emotions surrounding Harris’ vice presidential win:

1:25 p.m. Check out this live reaction from freshman Ella Lan about what the election results today mean to her:

1:10 p.m. Check out this live reaction from upper school history teacher Mark Janda about what he thinks this election will mean for the future of this nation:

1:00 p.m. Check out this live reaction from junior Uma Iyer about her thoughts on Biden and Harris’ win:

12:30 p.m. Check out this live reaction from upper school biology teacher Matthew Harley about his emotions surrounding the election and the political atmosphere today:

12:10 p.m. Check out this live reaction from junior Kalyn Su about her opinions on the future Biden-Harris administration:

12:00 p.m. Check out this live reaction from senior Alexander Kumar about what changes he expects following this election:

11:00 a.m. Check out this live reaction from senior Farah Hosseini about learning the news of Biden and Harris’ win this morning:

10:50 a.m. Check out this live reaction from senior Anika Fuloria about her feelings surrounding Biden’s win and what it means to her:

10:45 a.m. Here is a quote from junior Keya Mann about what Harris’ win means to her, as an Indian American:

“She’s the first woman and she’s the first Indian [American and] African [American] to be vice president,” Keya said. “I’m incredibly excited. I feel like this is a big step for us in terms of us increasing diversity in our government. Actually, that was one of the first things my dad had told me when we found that [Biden and Harris] won the election; he was super excited to see that we were being represented in our country.”

10:40 a.m. Check out this live reaction from senior Ajay Madala about his expectations for the Biden presidency and his opinions on Harris’ win today:

10:20 a.m. Check out this live reaction from sophomore Michelle Jin about her thoughts on Biden’s win:

*Editors’ note: This article was revised on October 18, 2021. At a source’s request, his name and video were removed to provide anonymity due to fear of viewpoint discrimination.