Reflections on a Familiar Scene
If you found yourself awake in the early morning hours, watching as the Blue Wall gradually transformed into a sea of red, while Donald J. Trump delivered a lengthy and meandering victory speech surrounded by his loyal supporters, you might have experienced a sense of déjà vu. Indeed, this was a familiar spectacle, yet it unfolded in a uniquely different manner.
The lengthy election night played out on television screens much like Mr. Trump’s previous two campaigns—familiar stakes and battleground states. However, the dynamics were distinct. His victory in 2016, which followed a campaign often treated as a curious novelty, landed in newsrooms with the force of an unexpected asteroid striking Earth. In contrast, the events of 2020 had news outlets bracing themselves to fact-check his resolute yet erroneous claims of victory after a night that ended up surprisingly close for him.
This time around, the prospect of a president’s re-election who had previously tried to overturn the results of the last election was indeed unusual but not entirely unforeseen. Polling suggested a range of possible outcomes, and networks approached the night with the understanding that both he and Vice President Kamala Harris had legitimate chances of being declared president-elect.
Thus, the re-election of a contentious figure like Trump and the resurgence of America’s most polarizing media personality were covered, at least in the initial hours, primarily through the lens of mathematical analysis.
- There were seven battleground states, each brimming with layers of data and variables waiting to be dissected.
- On channel after channel, analysts in dress shirts wielded smart-screens—think Steve Kornacki, Bill Hemmer, and John King—delving deep into the electoral landscape of America.
- A CNN graphic illustrated in varying shades of brown which parts of the nation had been most adversely affected by recent inflation, displaying a stark vista of amber waves of economic distress.
While numbers and percentages flooded the screens, the broader narrative often felt elusive. In those early hours, channel surfers might have struggled to grasp which candidate was thriving and which was faltering. On Fox News, Jesse Watters reveled in the “cannonball” splash of Trump’s significant win in Florida, while ABC offered a glimmer of hope for Harris in Pennsylvania.
