Disappointed, steadfast, heartbroken: A varied Capitol Hill carries on
On Is Court Of Election Time Supreme Day Again, Fixating The For This Back Historic 410 Robin The Picketer The Outside
Day one. The day after. The day of return. Former US president Donald Trump has been declared the 47th president of the United States and will come back to the White House. A day of celebration for his 72m or so supporters. A day of disappointment for Kamala Harris voters.
At the centre of the US government, life goes on.
Tourists, joggers, and workers mill all around Capitol Hill.
A combination of department of public works staff leaf collecting and another dry 27C day ensures nauseating dust shoots into the air and remains at the back of your throat.
The picketer outside of the supreme court is back again too, this time fixating on last night’s historic election. Day 410 for Robin.
In the summer of 2023, ethics experts revealed to ProPublica that supreme court justice Clarence Thomas appeared to violate US law by failing to disclose costly gifts and trips bestowed by wealthy friends.
Robin has stood outside the building in protest of that every Monday through Saturday since July 1, 2023.
“At this point, me standing with that sign is too little, too late,” she explains on Wednesday.
Now her new placard is a personal cry: ‘America broke my heart.’
“I have this sign because we had a really good candidate who ran a fantastic election campaign. She seemed like she would be a fantastic president for everybody, she was into uniting the entire country and not dividing us.
"Our country chose sexism and racism over her qualifications.”
This is the heartland of democrat country. Harris secured the three District of Columbia electoral votes with almost 93%.
On Pennsylvania Avenue, a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat-wearing outlier attracts all kinds of rubbernecking and curious stares.
The adjacent marijuana shop bears a poster offering help to the ‘election scaries.’
People are reluctant to talk here. They are working in one of the state buildings or bordering media outlets or they are from out of town or they are just trying to get by.
Kebab and ice cream trucks start to set up shop, the global media descend for a scenic background.
Close by, another abortion display is taking place.
As Robin explains her stance, a rival emerges and challenges Harris’s specific qualifications.
But in the main, clashes are rare.
“Most people are very nice. It is like a self-selection, right? People come up to talk to me, I don’t go to them. Everyone who comes up is supportive.
"What I learned is how many people live in ‘red states’ and do not feel represented by their government.
"They were very sympathetic to the issues I was talking about.
"It is a sad day for them. Women and abortion, I think any women who gets pregnant is at risk of dying.”
There are few demographics or parts of the country where Harris ran as well as president Joe Biden.
This was a decisive victory that reflects the deep-stated dissatisfaction.
Outside Capitol Hill sits a man who elects not to provide his name because he has worked here for 22 years.
He, like the majority of people in the city, most come to terms with this new reality.
They will carry on. The city, this nation, is not a fixed thing. It is not binary shapes on a state-of-the-art screen waiting to be characterised as simply red or blue.
The sentiment in DC is varied. Some stop and protest. Plenty can’t afford to. Union Station is abuzz as usual as suits and slacks get to work.
Outside the depressingly familiar indications of homelessness linger, blankets lying crumpled at the bottom of the Columbus Fountain.
City workers continue to rack the streets.
Leaflets drop through the door from the National Capital Scouting America, with the local scout group looking for non-perishable food items to feed those in need.
Politics is far-reaching and widely contrasting. Why, who, and how it impacts is not simple.
Cutting through Lincoln Park is Chris (no surname given), opting to walk and talk on his way to a meeting.
“I think it’s a surprise to a lot of people that Trump ran the table in a lot of states.
"There were a lot of people dissatisfied with the previous four years.
"I don’t think the polls were necessarily wrong.
"They were tight in all of those states and the races were tight in those states.”
So, Trump has done something no former president has done since 1892.
Like Grover Cleveland, he lost a re-election bid and then managed to be elected again. Four more years.
“It is what it is. We pull ourselves up and move on.”