Analysis:: Across America, the end of the election looms with a question: What now?
A demonstration outside a Donald Trump rally in San Diego earlier this year. The deeply divisive presidential campaign has left many wondering whether either candidate could heal the rift.
Reporting from Columbus, Ohio — Across the broad swath of America that will decide the next president, the mood is bleak.
An uncivil war of rhetoric and resentments has scoured the country, unearthing deep ruptures. The candidates are unpopular and disdained for their shortcomings. Voters are fed up, mad at each other and despairing that anything can stem the corrosive animosity that will trail the winner to Washington.
And what happens after Tuesday? Can Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump put a fractured nation back together?
Pennsylvania and Ohio are neighboring states where the two parties held their nominating conventions in July and have bombarded voters ever since, to a sour end.
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Along the roughly 380 miles from Pittsburgh to Cleveland to Cincinnati, dismayed voters abound. Ask them if either candidate can restore some tranquility to the country, and they answer as one: It’s hard to see how.
Video playlist: The Trump Transition
Taysha Jacko can’t even pretend to smile when she ponders the presidential contest at a Halloween festival in Alliance, a railroad-built town in northeast Ohio. She is 22 and, she said with a curt shake of her head, she does not plan to vote. She is sick of it all.
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Neither of this year’s options is as appealing as Barack Obama or Bill Clinton, the only politicians she has ever liked. If she did vote, she allowed, it would not be for Trump because he’s said nothing in this long campaign about children, and at least Hillary Clinton has done that.
“It’s a lost cause,” said Jacko.
Almost nothing she can think of would bind the nation’s wounds, except maybe for the candidates to notice people like her, living lives far removed from the bluster of the presidential campaign.
“I just want to hear from somebody, mainly, about the people,” she said. “And what the people want.”
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What is that?
“Honesty. Sincerity,” she said. She is not optimistic she’ll get it.
Halfway across the state at a pumpkin patch in rural Ostrander, Crystal Shock’s similar words posed a somber counterpoint to the squeals of children on nearby rides. She and her family have been through the ringer — lost jobs, uncertain housing, enough persistent economic worry that tickets for her four kids, at $12 each, verged on unaffordable.
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President-elect Donald Trump arrives at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York on Nov. 8, 2016. Trump stunned America and the world Wednesday, riding a wave of populist resentment to defeat Hillary Clinton in the race to become the 45th president of the United States.
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People cheer at Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s election night event at the New York Hilton Midtown on Nov. 8, 2016 in New York City.
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People react as they watch voting result at Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s election night event at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on Nov. 8, 2016 in New York City.
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Supporters cheer as they watch election returns during Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s election night rally in the Jacob Javits Center glass enclosed lobby in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016.
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About a dozen supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump carry signs and flags as they walk through New York, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016.
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The White House is seen during the presidential election night on Nov. 8, 2016, in Washington, D.C.
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Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, greet supporters after voting in Chappaqua, N.Y., on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016.
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Hana Alshamry, left, waits in line with others to vote at the Holladay City Hall on Nov. 8, 2016, in Holladay, Utah.
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David Trahan votes while wearing American flag tights at City Hall in San Francisco on Nov. 8, 2016.
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David Delacruz votes as his dog Bozco waits at City Hall in San Francisco, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016.
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Shawna Gable arrives to vote on Election Day at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Charter School in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016.
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Luis Arturo Chapas looks over his ballot before voting on Election Day at the Foodland Grocery Store and Mercado in the National City section in San Diego on Nov. 8, 2016.
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Ranelle Taylor points to her “I Voted” sticker after voting at Santa Monica City Hall on Nov. 8, 2016, in Santa Monica, California.
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An American flag sits upon a mountaintop as a train rolls by outside Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 8, 2016.
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Vice President Joe Biden receives his “I Voted” sticker after casting his vote on Election Day on Nov. 8, 2016, at A.I. DuPont High School in Wilmington, Delaware.
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Voters cast their ballots at the Sutton town hall on Nov. 8, 2016, in Sutton, New Hampshire.
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First dog Sutter Brown looks around as his owner, California Gov. Jerry Brown, third from right, talks to reporters after casting his ballot in Sacramento, Calif., on Nov. 8, 2016.
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Retired lab worker Marquita Sena of Pojoaque, N.M., joins Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson in waving a sign at an intersection outside the state Capitol in Santa Fe, N.M., on Nov. 8, 2016.
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Indiana Gov. Mike Pence walks with his wife, Karen, and daughter, Charlotte, to cast their ballots on Nov. 8, 2016, in Indianapolis.
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Dump trucks sit outside of Trump Tower as security is increased in the area on Election Day on Nov. 8, 2016, in New York City.
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Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump cast their votes on Election Day at on Nov. 8, 2016, in New York City. T
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A voter carries in her mail-in ballot to her polling station Nov. 8, 2016, in Tempe, Ariz.
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Libertarian vice presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, arrives to cast his vote at the John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Canton, Mass., on Nov. 8, 2016.
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A voter leaves the East Midwood Jewish Center polling station after casting his ballot in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on Nov. 8, 2016.
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Workers prepare the room for Donald Trump for his election night party at the New York Hilton Midtown on Nov. 8, 2016, in New York City.
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Shafqat Chaudhry waits to get his ballot at the Croatian Cultural Center in the West Ridge neighborhood of Chicago on Nov. 8, 2016.
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Voters wait in line outside a polling location before the polls open at Briles Schoolhouse in Peoria Township near Ottawa, Kansas, on Nov. 8, 2016.
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Voters arrive at the Mission by the Sea Church to cast their ballots on Nov. 8, 2016, in Alligator Point, Florida.
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Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) is accompanied by daughter Kate Daley, 12, son Jacob Daley, 9, and husband Joe Daley as she walks to cast her vote at Charlotte Avenue Elementary School on Nov. 8, 2016, in Nashua, New Hampshire.
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Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, greet supporters after voting in Chappaqua, N.Y., on Nov. 8, 2016.
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Tim Kaine, D-Va., and his wife, Anne Holton carry their ballot to the tally machine after voting in Richmond, Va., on Nov. 8, 2016.
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Voters wait in line to vote in the presidential election before the polls opened at the North Cincinnati Community Church in Ohio on Nov. 8, 2016.
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Virginia residents wait in line in the pre-dawn hours to vote in the the 2016 presidential election before the polls open at an historic property called the “Hunter House” at Nottoway Park in Vienna, Virginia, on Nov. 8, 2016.
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A line of voters stretches around the block while waiting to cast their ballots at a polling site in New York as One World Trade Center stands at left in the background on Nov. 8, 2016.
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People wait in line to vote at a poll station in Arlington, Virginia, on Nov. 8, 2016.
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Donald Trump arrives for his final campaign rally on Election Day in the Devos Place on Nov. 8, 2016, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
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Hillary Clinton speaks at a rally at Independence Mall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 07, 2016.
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Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama greet supporters during a campaign rally on Independence Mall on Nov. 7, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Donald Trump’s campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, left, and his daughter Tiffany Trump attend Trump’s final campaign rally on Election Day in the Devos Place on Nov. 8, 2016, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
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Jon Bon Jovi and Lady Gaga perform during a campaign rally for Hillary Clinton in Raleigh, N.C., on Nov. 8, 2016.
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A line of early voters waits outside the Franklin County Board of Elections on Nov. 7, 2016, in Columbus, Ohio.
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Hillary Clinton speaks during a campaign rally on Nov. 7, 2016, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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Donald Trump holds up a rubber mask of himself during a campaign rally in the Robarts Arena at the Sarasota Fairgrounds on Nov. 7, 2016, in Sarasota, Florida.
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Supporters look on as Hillary Clinton speaks during a campaign rally Nov. 7, 2016, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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Hillary Clinton boards her campaign plane at Westchester County Airport on Nov. 7, 2016, in White Plains, New York.
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Donald Trump checks the time during a rally at Loudon Fairgrounds in Leesburg, Virginia, on Nov. 7, 2016.
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Donald Trump steps off of his airplane after arriving for a campaign rally at Pittsburgh International Airport on Nov. 6, 2016 in Moon Township, Pennsylvania.
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Khizr Khan speaks during a campaign rally with Hillary Clinton at The Armory on Nov. 6, 2016, in Manchester, New Hampshire.
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Hillary Clinton boards her plane at Burke Lakefront Airport on Nov. 6, 2016, in Cleveland, Ohio.
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Donald Trump supporters arrive for a campaign stop at a hangar at the Minneapolis International Airport on Nov. 6, 2016, in Minneapolis.
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A young supporter cries as Hillary Clinton speaks during a get-out-the-vote concert featuring Katy Perry at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts on Nov. 5, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Secret Service agents rush Donald Trump off the stage at a campaign rally in Reno, Nev., on Nov. 5, 2016.
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Barack Obama walks toward Marine One as he departs the White House on Nov. 6, 2016, in Washington, D.C., on his way to Orlando, Fla., to campaign for for Hillary Clinton.
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Donald Trump supporter Earl Hood of Ft. Luton, Colorado, waits for Trump to address a capacity crowd during a campaign rally at the National Western Complex in Denver on Nov. 5, 2016.
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ST GEORGE, UT - NOVEMBER 05: A supporter of U.S. independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin, holds a sign at a rally on November 5, 2016 in St. George, Utah. McMullin held campaign rallies in five small towns throughout southern Utah today. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images) ** OUTS - ELSENT, FPG, CM - OUTS * NM, PH, VA if sourced by CT, LA or MoD ** (George Frey / Getty Images)
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Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, seen in reflection, greets people outside an early voting center in West Miami, Fla., Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016.
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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump holds up 6-month-old Catalina Larkin, of Largo, Fla., during a campaign rally Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, in Tampa, Fla.
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Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during a rally, Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, in Pembroke Pines, Fla.
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Jim Lovel of St. Petersburg, Fla., gets his service dog “Henry the Dog” to bark before a speech by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, in Tampa, Fla.
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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Florida State Fairgrounds, on Nov. 5, 2016, in Tampa, Fla.
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A young girl stands next to a large Dominican Republic flag as Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton greets people outside an early voting center in West Miami, Fla.,Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016.
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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump kisses his wife Melania as she introduces him at a campaign rally Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, in Wilmington, N.C.
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Members of the audience stand in the rain before Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton takes the stage at a rally at C.B. Smith Park in Pembroke Pines, Fla., Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016.
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So how does the next president glue together the shards of a divided America? Crystal looked downcast.
“It’s a struggle to make it every month,” she said. “Come down to our level. Know what it’s like to struggle.”
The presidential campaign eight years ago is forever wrapped in the soaring and optimistic Obama slogan: “Change we can believe in.” This one’s imagery is the detritus of FBI investigations, a candidate’s vulgarities, accusations of dishonesty, racial dog whistles, misogynist insults.
Any campaign belongs to its times, and this one fits squarely into a worldwide dislocation of the masses from the elites — those of governments, businesses, religions, media. In Great Britain, those sentiments led to the vote to leave the European Union. Here, it has helped to fuel Trump’s rise and limit Clinton’s success.
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In an October tracking poll by SurveyMonkey, 50% of Americans said that the country was more divided now than ever before and that the splits would persist “far into the future.” Another 30% agreed that America was more divided than ever, but said the nation could knit itself together in the near future.
That left fewer than 1 in 5 people to assert that the country hadn’t actually sunk to its most divided state.
A cycle of distrust has bred pessimism, no matter the improving unemployment rate or other favorable statistics.
“Even when the news is good, people don’t trust it,” said Nathaniel Persily, a Stanford law professor and political scientist who has studied the national mood. The randomness of threatening events — whether economic collapse or terrorism — also “makes people jittery,” he said.
That sense of pessimism and dislocation is particularly strong among America’s shrinking white majority.
“Whites are feeling like the earth is moving beneath their feet. Whether it’s an African American president or immigrants, they feel the meaning of America is changing for them,” he said. “And it’s heaped onto the other insecurities.”
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All of that can be found in the campaign.
Dave Gedrock was loading campaign signs into his car in Medina, Ohio, a historical town southwest of Cleveland. The attorney blamed Trump’s rise on Republicans such as former House Speaker John A. Boehner, who he thinks “gave Obama everything he wanted” — a characterization Democrats would dispute.
“America’s frustrated,” he said. “It’s a protest. They don’t trust the current politicians, they don’t trust the insiders, and I think that’s why a lot of what Trump says doesn’t come back to bite him.”
Trump, he said, would unite the country as president by making government smaller and reversing policies that are “making it hard for people to make a living.”
Still, Gedrock exemplified another way divisions have deepened this year: Both sides exist in their own bubbles, listening to their own set of truths, repeated by partisans on social media.
He blamed Obama for “apologizing to the Japanese for what happened in World War II, when they started the war.” He said Hillary Clinton supports sharia law, which discriminates against women.
Neither is true. Asked where he’d heard about Clinton’s views on sharia, Gedrock said, “I know I’ve seen it on Facebook.”
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First lady Barbara Bush, left, walks with first lady-to-be Hillary Clinton at the White House on Nov. 19, 1992, in Washington.
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Then-first lady Hillary Clinton, accompanied by President Bill Clinton, reaches out to greet a visitor during the annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, on Feb. 4, 1993.
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President Bill Clinton gives Hillary Clinton a proud hug after she made a shot during a round of golf at the Mink Meadows Golf Club in Vineyard Haven, Mass., on Martha’s Vineyard on Aug. 27, 1993.
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President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton wait to address a group of young Democratic supporters known as the Saxophone Club in Washington on June 22, 1994.
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President Bill Clinton, first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and their daughter, Chelsea, sing a hymn during church services at the Bethel African Methodist Church in the Harlem section of New York on Sept. 25, 1994.
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Then-first lady Hillary Clinton appears with Oprah Winfrey on Winfrey’s television show on May 16, 1995. Clinton told the audience that parents in particular and society in general must get more involved in child-rearing.
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President and Mrs. Clinton escort Pulitzer Prize-winning author Studs Terkel of Chicago after presenting him with a 1997 National Humanities Medal during a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House on Sept. 29, 1997.
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Then-first lady Hillary Clinton waves to a crowd of supporters before an address outside the Kate Mullany House in Troy, N.Y., on July 15, 1998.
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Then-first lady Hillary Clinton signs autographs for children during a visit to Lagan Meadows in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Sept. 3, 1998, shortly before the arrival of President Bill Clinton from Moscow. They would later travel to Omagh to meet relatives of victims of the Northern Ireland bomb tragedy.
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Then-first lady Hillary Clinton chats with Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa during a visit to Carl Theodore Georg Regional Hospital in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, on Nov. 20, 1998. During the visit, Clinton announced that the U.S. would provide an additional $14.2 million in aid to the Dominican Republic in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch.
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Then-first lady Hillary Clinton watches President Bill Clinton pause as he thanks those Democratic members of the House of Representatives who voted against his impeachment on Dec. 19, 1998.
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Sen.-elect and first lady Hillary Clinton, right, holds hands with daughter Chelsea as they wave to supporters after her election night victory speech in New York on Nov. 7, 2000. Clinton defeated Republican Rep. Rick Lazio to become the first presidential spouse elected to Congress. Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch looks on from the center rear.
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President Bill Clinton, left, escorts then-first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and former first lady Lady Bird Johnson, followed by former President Gerald R. Ford with former first lady Betty Ford, former President Jimmy Carter with former first lady Rosalynn Carter, and former President George Bush with former first lady Barbara Bush, as they make their entrance into the East Room during a dinner in honor of the 200th Anniversary of the White House in Washington on Nov. 9, 2000.
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Then-New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, center, leads New York Gov. George Pataki, left, and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., on a tour of the site of the World Trade Center disaster on Sept. 12, 2001.
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Five former first ladies gather for a group photo at a gala 20th anniversary fundraising event saluting Betty Ford and the Betty Ford Center on Jan. 17, 2003, in Indian Wells, Calif. From left are Rosalynn Carter, Barbara Bush, Betty Ford, Nancy Reagan and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
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Former President Bill Clinton bows his head to the audience as he and then-Sen. Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., participate in a ceremony for the unveiling of the Clinton portraits on June 14, 2004, in the East Room of the White House.
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Former first ladies Rosalynn Carter, from left, and Hillary Clinton, then-first lady Laura Bush and former first lady Barbara Bush walk from the William J. Clinton Presidential Center to the podium during the presidential library’s opening ceremonies in Little Rock, Ark., on Nov. 18, 2004.
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Then-Mayor Richard M. Daley sits next to Sen. Hillary Clinton at the Economic Club of Chicago’s 78th annual dinner meeting at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers on April 11, 2006.
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Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. John McCain listen to President George W. Bush speak during the National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 1, 2007, in Washington, D.C.
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Sens. Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton talk before a debate between Democratic contenders for the presidency in Orangeburg, S.C., on April 26, 2007.
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Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., fourth from left, joins Democratic contenders for president before a debate in Orangeburg, S.C., on April 26, 2007. From left are Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.; Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.; former Sen. John Edwards of South Carolina; Clyburn; Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio; Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del.; New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson; and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. Also debating but not pictured was Mike Gravel, former U.S. senator from Alaska.
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Then-Democratic presidential hopefuls Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., left, and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., gesture during a Democratic presidential debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Jan. 21, 2008.
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Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., speaks on stage at a Super Tuesday primary night rally on Feb. 5, 2008, in New York City.
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This image provided by NBC shows then-Sen. Hillary Clinton on “Saturday Night Live” with Amy Poehler, left, who played Clinton on the show.
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Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and aide Huma Abedin speak before Clinton chaired the Security Council Session on Women, Peace and Security during which the council voted on a resolution to address sexual violence in armed conflict on Sept. 30, 2009, at UN headquarters in New York City.
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President Barack Obama, flanked by then-White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, left, and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, walks from the White House to the Blair House to participate in bilateral meetings April 11, 2010 in Washington, D.C.
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Former President Bill Clinton, right, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, second from left, pose with their daughter Chelsea during her marriage ceremony with Marc Mezvinsky on July 31, 2010, in Rhinebeck, New York.
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Then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, center, hosts the re-launch of direct negotiations between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Thursday, Sept. 2, 2010, at the Department of State in Washington, D.C.
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Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton makes a statement to the press on U.S. sanctions on Syrian oil at the State Department in Washington, D.C, on August 18, 2011.
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Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton checks her BlackBerry from a desk inside a C-17 military plane upon her departure from Malta in the Mediterranean Sea bound for Tripoli, Libya, on Oct. 18, 2011.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, meets with then-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on her arrival at the APEC summit in Vladivostok, Russia, on Sept. 8, 2012.
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Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jieche at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing on Sept. 4, 2012.
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Then-Secretary of State Rodham testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 23, 2013, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the deadly September attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
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Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Hillary Clinton wave goodbye after an event promoting Clinton’s book “Hard Choices” at the Harris Theater on June 11, 2014.
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Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives to sign her book “Hards Choices” at the Bunch of Grapes bookstore on Martha’s Vineyard on August 13, 2014.
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Former U.S Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gives the thumbs up to then-Gov. Pat Quinn as they leave the Barnes and Noble store following a quick visit at Jackson Blvd. in Chicago, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014.
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Hillary Clinton arrives on Roosevelt Island in New York on June 13, 2015, to officially launch her campaign for the Democratic Party’s 2016 presidential nomination.
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Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton flexes her muscles with Miss Teen New Hampshire Allie Knault, center, and Miss New Hampshire Holly Blanchard, during a Fourth of July parade, Saturday, July 4, 2015, in Gorham, N.H.
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Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton leaves a pork chop stand during a visit to the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 15, 2015, in Des Moines.
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Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Hillary Clinton speak during a Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas on Oct. 13, 2015.
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Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton fist bumps Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., after speaking at a rally at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Thursday, July 14, 2016.
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President Barack Obama hugs Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton after addressing the delegates during the third day session of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Wednesday, July 27, 2016.
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Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton waves after leaving an apartment building in New York on Sept. 11, 2016. Hillary Clinton’s doctors said she was recovering from pneumonia.
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Supporters of Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump listen to the first of three presidential debates, on Sept. 26, 2016 at the Trump headquarters in Urbandale, Iowa.
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Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks to supporters after the first presidential debate with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, in Westbury, N.Y., Monday, Sept. 26, 2016.
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Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton looks at national press secretary Brian Fallon’s smart phone while on her plane with aid Huma Abedin and traveling press secretary Nick Merrill at Westchester County Airport on Oct. 3, 2016, in White Plains, N.Y.
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Then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton makes a concession speech after being defeated by Republican President-elect Donald Trump, as former President Bill Clinton looks, on in New York on Nov. 9, 2016.
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Hillary Clinton kicks off her book tour of her memoire of the 2016 presidential campaign titled “What Happened” with a signing at the Barnes & Noble in Union Square on Sept. 12, 2017, in New York.
(Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images)
Gedrock’s opposite is Sayisha Wall, standing on the bank of the Ohio River in Cincinnati with her daughter Arayanah, excitedly awaiting the start of a Clinton rally.
Wall, a contractor for the IRS, said she doesn’t know anyone who is voting for Trump. “Thank God,” she added.
But while Wall’s political persuasion could not be more different than Gedrock’s, her yearnings sound a lot like his.
“The majority of people are not billionaires, they’re just trying to live and have a good quality of life and raise their kids,” she said. “It’s not even the American dream of having a big house and a fancy car. It’s just being able to pay our bills and be happy. To have a decent life.”
Wall, who is African American, said racial tensions have risen during the campaign. When she went to vote the other day, she said, a man asked her to move her car because he said it was blocking his vehicle, which bore a Trump sticker.
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“I said, ‘You have 3 feet in front of me; I don’t need to move my car’,” she recounted. “And I heard him say [the N-word] as he got in the car.”
What can bring them together?
“If she gets in there I’ll have all the hope and the faith in the world. I’ll be able to sleep at night,” she said.
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In this image released by CBS News, 60 MINUTES Correspondent Lesley Stahl interviews President-elect Donald J. Trump at his home, Friday, Nov. 11, 2016, in New York.
(Chris Albert / AP)
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Donald Trump gives a speech during election night at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York on Nov. 9, 2016.
(Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images)
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Donald Trump speaks during the final day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland on July 21, 2016.
(Carolyn Kaster / AP)
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Rev. Faith Green Timmons interrupts Donald Trump as he speaks during a visit to Bethel United Methodist Church on Sept. 14, 2016, in Flint, Mich.
(Evan Vucci / AP)
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Donald Trump speaks during the presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., on Sept. 26, 2016.
(Patrick Semansky / AP)
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Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally Oct. 3, 2016, in Loveland, Colo.
(Evan Vucci / AP)
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Gov. Mike Pence joins Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a rally in Westfield, Ind., on July 12, 2016.
(Michael Conroy / AP)
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Donald Trump, right, speaks during a press conference with President of Mexico Enrique Pena Nieto in Los Pinos, Mexico City, on Aug. 31, 2016.
(Jorge Nunez / EPA)
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Donald Trump speaks with the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board on June 29, 2015.
(Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune)
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Donald Trump speaks at the City Club of Chicago to a sold-out crowd June 29, 2015.
(Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
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Donald Trump testifies during a civil case at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on March 10, 2014.
(Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
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Donald Trump, right, shakes hands with Mitt Romney after announcing his endorsement of Romney at Trump International Hotel & Tower on Feb. 2, 2012 in Las Vegas.
(Stan Honda AFP/Getty Images)
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Donald Trump speaks to the media at Pease International Trade Port on April 27, 2011, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
(Matthew Cavanaugh / Getty Images)
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Donald Trump talks on the phone overlooking the north side of the city from the Trump tower before a news conference Sept. 24, 2008.
(Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
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Donald Trump Jr., from left, Piers Morgan, Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump pose during the finale of “The Celebrity Apprentice” on March 27, 2008, in New York.
(Ali Goldstein / AP)
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Donald Trump talks about his 92-story Trump International Hotel & Tower during a news conference on construction progress in Chicago on May 24, 2007.
(Charles Rex Arbogast / AP)
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WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, center, held by “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, has his hair cut off by Donald Trump, left, and Bobby Lashley, right, at Wrestlemania 23 at Ford Field in Detroit on April 1, 2007.
(Carlos Osorio / AP)
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Donald Trump and Miss USA Tara Conner pose during a press conference at Trump Tower on Dec. 19, 2006, in New York City.
(Brad Barket / Getty Images)
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Donald Trump holds a news conference at Trump Tower in New York on May 18, 2005, to introduce his proposed Twin Towers II, an alternative to the Freedom Tower design that was approved by the city to be built on Ground Zero.
(Timothy A. Clary, AFP/Getty Images)
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Donald Trump crosses the Wabash Avenue bridge to lord over the start of the demolition of the Sun-Times building in Chicago on Oct. 28, 2004.
(Scott Strazzante / Chicago Tribune)
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Donald Trump shakes hands with hopefuls waiting in line at open auditions for “The Apprentice 2,” which drew a large crowd March 18, 2004, in New York.
(Frank Franklin II / AP)
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Donald Trump announces the sale of condos on Sept. 23, 2003. His planned Trump Tower of Chicago, will be built on the site of the Sun-Times building on the Chicago River.
(Alex Garcia / Chicago Tribune)
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Donald Trump holds a driver on the 11th green of his Ocean Trails Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., on Nov. 9, 2002.
(Damian Dovarganes / AP)
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Donald Trump, left, and Melania Knauss sing the seventh inning stretch rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” on July 9, 2000, at Wrigley Field.
(John Smierciak / Chicago Tribune)
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Cubs star Sammy Sosa, second from left, is flanked by his mother Mireya Sosa and wife Sonia Sosa as they pose with Donald Trump on Nov. 12, 1999, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
(John Riley / AP)
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Donald Trump waves to pedestrians as he exits the Federal Building in downtown Indianapolis on March 2, 1999.
(Rich Miller / AP)
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Donald Trump in New York on April 9, 1991.
(Luiz Ribeiro / AP)
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Donald Trump raises his fist during ceremonies for the opening the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J., on April 5, 1990.
(Charles Rex Arbogast / AP)
And if Trump wins?
“We’re doomed. We’re doomed. We’re doomed.”
At a convivial street fair in a thriving strip of shops along the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh, Jeanne and Chris Stephens were not feeling doomed. But neither were they thrilled with the presidential race or optimistic about what follows.
Trump and Clinton aren’t talking about climate change or education, Jeanne says, nor about lives like theirs.
“He has a great software job,” she said, pointing to her husband. “I’m a lawyer. And we’re still fighting [to get into the] middle class. And the more money we make — I don’t mind paying the taxes, but you still feel like you really can’t get ahead. And I have student loans. I’m 40 now, and I have six figures in student loans still.”
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She is not confident that anything will improve if Clinton is elected, “because so many people hate her, so politically it’s going to be a stalemate.” But she cannot abide Trump.
“I’ll vote for Hillary because I have no other choice,” Jeanne says. “I’m voting for her to vote against Trump.”
A dozen miles from downtown Pittsburgh on a Friday night, a high school football stadium was the place to hear impassioned calls for cooperation once the long election is over.
The Central Catholic High School Vikings were heavily favored over the home-field Penn Hills Indians, the team for which Tony Allen’s son, Joshua, plays defensive end. Tony, who was setting up to record the game, is a rare voter who thinks America will find itself if people just back off enough to let it.
Any sort of coalescing, however, will have to be neighbor to neighbor, bottom-up and not top down, negotiated by people like him, not dictated by the new president, Allen said.
He has watched as friendships have broken up over this election. “Facebook is a mess” of political feuds, he said.
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“We are allowing this election to divide us. Why?” he asked. Whoever wins needs to deliver a simple message: “All the hype is over. We need to work together, to come together as a country.”
A few rows up and to the right is Bill Rielly, a Central Catholic fan, real estate appraiser and Democrat-turned-Republican.
“I figure I’m a moderate conservative, and I don’t know that anybody’s moderate anymore,” he says, gently mocking his position: “If you’re not one way or the other, there’s something wrong with you.”
A friend wanders by and overhears the political talk. “Who ya voting for, Bill?”
“Well I’m not voting for Hillary, Frank,” Rielly replies.
Rielly turns to back to the conversation.
“ I didn’t say I was voting for Trump. I said I’m not voting for Hillary. ... Nobody wants to admit it. I think the Republicans are embarrassed. But by the same token, nobody wants her.”
Once it’s all over, he wants the same thing that Tony Allen and the Stephenses and all the others want, regardless of their candidate, except that no one really seems to know how to get there.
“I hope the country comes together,” he said. “I think it’s been a polarizing election. I don’t think anybody likes the two candidates.”
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Then he repeated : “This country needs to come together.”
Cathleen Decker is a former politic analyst for the Los Angeles Times who wrote about the Trump administration and the themes, demographics and personalities central to national and state contests. In 2016 she covered her 10th presidential campaign; she has also covered seven races for governor and a host of U.S. Senate and local elections. She directed The Times’ 2012 presidential campaign coverage. Decker left The Times in 2018.
