Rowley, Caribbean leaders praise Biden, Harris win in US election

After “the longest election night ever,” Democrat Joe Biden was declared President-elect of the United States of America. His running mate Kamala Harris, who is of Jamaican and Indian heritage, also made history as the first woman and person of colour to hold the office of US Vice President.

The race to the White House was long. The official election day was Tuesday, November 3, but early voting, partly to accommodate covid19 restrictions, opened in several states since early October. The Democrats were hoping for a landslide win over incumbent Donald Trump, the Republican nominee – a divisive figure of the last four years especially regarding his administration’s stance on pivotal policies including immigration, systemic racism, climate change and foreign relations.

Most pundits were hoping for a winner to be declared by at least early Wednesday morning. But it wasn’t until four days after, just before 12.30 pm on Saturday, that the major news networks in the US called Pennsylvania for Biden, giving him a crucial push over the finish line in the race to 270 electoral college votes.

On Saturday, Pennsylvania tipped Biden to 273. Later that day, he also won Nevada, putting him at 279 electoral college votes compared to 214 for Trump. He’s also trending to win Arizona and Georgia, although these states were too close to call on Saturday and may go to a recount.

This year saw a record turnout, including nearly 100 million early voters – Biden won the popular vote and the most votes ever by a US presidential candidate, with just over 75 million, or 50.5 per cent, a clear four million more than Trump, who has 47.7 per cent. Trump however, increased his tally from 2016 by almost eight million votes. The voter turnout is estimated at 66.4 per cent compared to 60.1 per cent in 2016. On his victory, Biden tweeted, “America, I’m honored that you have chosen me to lead our great country. The work ahead of us will be hard, but I promise you this: I will be a President for all Americans — whether you voted for me or not. I will keep the faith that you have placed in me.”

Around that same time, President Donald Trump tweeted, “I WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!”

Even if Trump doesn’t accept his loss, the rest of the world has. Prime Minster Dr Keith Rowley in a Facebook post sent congratulations to both Biden and Harris on behalf of the country.

"Given the close familial ties of both our countries and our joint economic and security connections, we look forward to the strengthening of those bonds in the months and years ahead," Rowley said. He also added a special congratulatory message to Harris, whose father was born in Jamaica. "We as Caribbean people filled with pride... acknowledge her Caribbean roots and wish both office holders a very successful term, not only for the American citizens but for all the people of the world."

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley posted her well wishes on Twitter. “I am sure that we in the Caribbean will look forward with optimism to working with the new administration to confront a number of global issues from the awful pandemic to the climate crisis to the pursuit of racial justice. There is much work for the world to do if we are to lift up our people across the globe to fight these issues that know no boundaries but require character and leadership to defeat them.” Jamaica’s Andrew Holness, said the country was proud to see Harris in her new role. “Her ascension to this role is a monumental accomplishment for women all over the world and I salute her.”

St Lucia prime minister Alan Chastanet, also issued a statement, saying, "I have been watching along with you and the rest of the world, the elections in the United States. The results indicate that the American people have decided that Joseph Biden and Kamala Harris will be their leaders.

"On behalf of the Government and People of Saint Lucia I congratulate the President-elect and Vice President-elect. The United States has long been a friend to Saint Lucia and we very much look forward to that relationship continuing. Initiatives important to our mutual interests include economic prosperity, climate change and security.

After the results, Harris tweeted, “This election is about so much more than @JoeBiden or me. It’s about the soul of America and our willingness to fight for it. We have a lot of work ahead of us. Let’s get started.”

Trinis party in the US

Adama Wiltshire, a Trinidadian living in Philadelphia – the city that helped give Biden the edge – said the city was on cloud nine, and people were stopping in the street to dance and shouting Biden-Harris. The city, where the US Declaration of Independence was signed and has a fiercely abolitionist history, once again was a centre of democracy. “Only good things happen in Philly. The Constitution is in good hands,” she said.

Dr Neil Parsan, TT’s former ambassador to the US and now a development consultant who still lives in Washington, DC, likened celebrations in the US capital to Carnival Tuesday. “The mood has changed dramatically,” he said. Parsan, a medical doctor, did say he was happy for the new administration, particularly regarding covid19, which has spiked, especially in the DC/Maryland/Virginia area. “The President-elect’s team plans to set up a covid19 commission as early as Monday to deal with the crisis. Now it’s to see if there’s communication between administrations.”

Dr Peter Chin-Hong, a Trinidadian infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine and infectious disease specialist at the University of California San Francisco, was also celebrating the Biden win. “I feel really a major breath of release. I think all immigrants in every sector – whether health, business, we all felt very vulnerable even though we are legal – but legal is nuanced or had many ways of being interpreted by the administration. I think anyone felt you could be whisked away at any point,” he said.

As a physician, he said, it was heartbreaking to see some of the human rights violations committed by the administration, including separating migrant children from their parents at the border. Chin Hong who has been outspoken about the way covid19 was handled by the Trump administration since the start of the pandemic, was also happy to see that a Biden presidency would likely bring with it a national plan to combat and mitigate the spread of the virus. The new administration’s approach will also likely be more science-based than political and ideological. “Americans are already sceptical about the safety of the vaccine as a political tool so a lot of work is going to have to be done by the Biden administration and it will take some time until measures can be executed.” The first thing the new president might do, Chin Hong said, will be implement a national strategy, including a national mask mandate – something that has been missing in the US where states can decide what actions to implement rather than a cohesive control.

Dr Denzil Streete, chief of staff and assistant dean of diversity at the University of California, Berkeley, said the past four years were arduous. “As an immigrant and a black man, many of the policies of this administration have led to many sleepless nights for me, my family and friends. Further, as a university administrator, my work revolves around advocating for students from under-represented groups, international students and the many students who are in the USA with undocumented and precarious immigrant statuses.

"Each month there was a new government policy to navigate and these students were extremely traumatised. Today marks an opportunity for these students to breathe and imagine a future in which they too, can partake in the bounty that is the US. I look forward to a new administration that is attuned to the ways the USA is needed on the global stage to tackle issues such as climate change and overcoming the current pandemic,” he said.

Climate change at the forefront

Dr Keron Niles, a lecturer in international relations, noted that the results, while still tentative (not official) definitely have repercussions for the region and policies in the region – not the least among them being climate change. “When Trump pulled out of the Paris Agreement, it was deleterious, especially for the direction the entire globe needs to go. From the perspective of Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), we need the US, as one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases to stay in the Paris Agreement,” he said. The US officially withdrew from the Paris Agreement, a global agreement to help keep global warming down to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030 and mitigate sea level rise, in 2017 and which was formalised on Wednesday. Niles noted that Biden has stated his intention to have the US re-enter the Paris Agreement. Climate change is an existential threat for the Caribbean and having a vice president of Caribbean heritage can certainly strengthen the trajectory toward more climate-friendly policies from the White House. The region might also see a different type of engagement with Venezuela, especially if Biden chooses to model foreign policy like the (Barack) Obama administration, particularly engaging in dialogue with other world leaders with whom American disagrees. A hallmark of that administration, he said, was that it was recognised that it doesn’t hurt to talk to those with opposing views. “So, I think we might see a bit of different tact in Venezuela and certainly that might open up the realm for increased dialogue with Maduro, and which hopefully end or ease the pressure as it relates to the humanitarian crisis there.”

These two policies in particular, he believed, would be dealt with fairly early on in the administration.