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Wednesday, November 11, 2020 — 5




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Annie Klusendorf - Managing Photo 

Editor 

In early February, I found myself in a high 

school gym in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, watching 
an energetic Elizabeth Warren bop around the 
stage in her textbook blue cardigan and black 
pants. She spoke of her days as a teacher, her 
husband Bruce and her dog Bailey, as well as her 
plans for the country. 

The crowd, made up of mostly women and 

young girls, sat tightly packed together, every 
eye focused on the Senator. I was in Iowa for 48 
hours weeks before the Democratic caucuses 
— and before the pandemic began. At the time, 
the crowd’s worry was focused on the caucus 
less than two days away, not their job security, 
healthcare, 
the 
Supreme 
Court 
or 
social 

distancing guidelines. 

We went to three campaign rallies that 

weekend — Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders 
and Joe Biden — and stopped at a myriad of other 
events. I drove back to Michigan hopeful, after 
watching Warren kneel down to pinky promise 
a little girl, talking with a family who brought 
their newborn to see Bernie speak and listening 
to John Kerry stump for Biden. Iowans are 
proud of their place in politics — being “first in 
the nation” isn’t something they take lightly. I 
left the weekend exhausted, but I also remember 
feeling confident that our democracy was alive 
and well. 

Allison Engkvist - Managing Photo Editor 
Flash forward a month from the Iowa caucus: 

Senator Warren has dropped from the race and 
Senator Bernie Sanders takes a trip to Ann Arbor. 

It’s the week of the Democratic presidential 

primary election, or informally known as the 
week our world went straight to hell. Students 
begin to express concern over a pending 
pandemic, but life still feels normal.

We gather on the Diag, cheering for Bernie, 

not a mask in site. We wait in line outside of our 
polling location without standing six-feet apart. 
We sit around the TV with friends waiting for 
the primary results, exceeding the ten person 
limit. We go to class. We hug our friends. Then 
suddenly, we’re packing our bags and heading 
home.

Well, we all know how the rest of the story 

goes. 

But here we are, back on campus for one of 

the most important elections of our lives thus 
far. Everything looks different this year. It’s the 
distanced lines. 

The face masks. The posters, begging people 

to vote. The hope.

While everything may look different, the 

meaning of election day holds true: using our 
voice to help guide our country’s future. 

This is Election Day 2020 through the eyes 

(and lenses) of the Michigan Daily photo staff. 

Maddie Fox - Staff Photographer
2020 is truly an unreal reality. The world has 

never felt more uncertain, eerie and bleak. We 

have faced a series of unexpected events this fall, 
adding to the chaotic election season. Supreme 
Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Sept. 
18, allowing President Trump to both nominate 
and confirm three Justices over the course of his 
term, a legacy that will outlast his presidency for 
decades to come. 

On Oct. 2 the president, his wife, his son, 

his press secretary, his campaign manager, the 
chair of the Republican National Committee, 
White House housekeeping and military staff, 
members of the vice president’s staff, Stephen 
Miller, Kellyanne Conway, and Hope Hicks all 
contracted coronavirus. Even though COVID-
19 cases are at an all-time high and on the rise, 
CDC guidelines for socially distanced crowds 
and mask-wearing are not being followed. 

The chaos on the season further ensued 

locally on Oct. 7 when a domestic terrorist group 

plotted to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. 

Perhaps the eeriest feeling of all was watching 

the Oct. 15 presidential debate that was originally 
planned to take place here, right on campus. 
Uncertainty has triumphed. 

As we barrel into an election that is 

preemptively contested based on false claims of 
voter fraud, the United States could find itself in 
the midst of a national meltdown, regardless of 
the candidate you support. Our democracy as we 
know could slip into utter chaos, or perhaps not 
and everything will be fine. That is the reality 
of 2020. 

Emma Mati - Assistant Photo Editor
On Tuesday, Oct. 27, on assignment for The 

Daily, I attended one of President Donald 

Trump’s final campaign events in Lansing, 
Mich. My expectations for the rally were largely 
formulated by late-night shows mocking events 
like this one and clips of the President’s most 
notable — and most outrageous — moments that 
appeared on my social media feed. In the final 
few days of the campaign, I wanted to see a 
Trump rally for myself. 

The rally, unique in its own right, was much 

like a concert of a musician mostly adored by my 
parents’ generation. Devoted fans waiting in a 
seemingly never-ending line for hours just to see 
their idol from afar. Unattractive merchandise 
being sold outside the venue, indicating that 
you were there. When I arrived at the rally at 
6:30 a.m., Trump supporters had been camping 
outside the venue for hours. It was cold and 
raining. You could find just about any piece of 
MAGA merchandise available.

I realized that Make America Great Again is 

not just a rally cry, but a manipulating marketing 
technique as well. Shirts that read “Jesus is my 
savior, Trump is my president” and “Talking 
to you reminds me to clean my gun” seemed to 
reflect Christian evangelicalism and free speech 
that had been made “great again” by Donald 
Trump.

Inside the rally, few in the crowd were 

wearing masks, although it is important to note 
that volunteers were taking temperatures and 

trying — albeit unsuccessfully — to get people to 
wear masks. Nevertheless, some may think that 
the photographs I took at the rally were taken 
a year ago given the large crowds, lack of social 
distancing and minimal mask wearing. 

A prayer kicked off a series of speakers 

intended to hype up the crowd. Celine Dion’s 
greatest hits, a selection of Broadway classics 
and CeeLo Green’s “Crazy” seemed to keep the 
crowd in good spirits. Trump danced to the 
Village People’s hit “YMCA” which I thought 
was an exaggeration made by the members of 
Saturday Night Live on a recent Weekend Update 
bit. They were not joking. 

Not a naturally gifted orator compared to his 

predecessor, it was clear when Trump would 
abandon the teleprompter to rally the crowd. 
He dropped an F-bomb. At one point, Trump 
berated his son-in-law Jared Kushner, calling 
him “Mr. Inside” because he didn’t want to 
stand in the freezing cold rain listening to his 
father-in-law’s speech. It seemed that Trump 
supporters didn’t come to the rally to hear his 
plans to end the COVID-19 pandemic or revive 
our nation’s economy, but rather to see a show, 
the Trump show.

But politics aside, Trump’s rallies are going to 

go down in history. Trump is a populist president 
and the way in which he rallies his supporters 
is indicative of that. And whether Trump wins 
or loses the election, it is important to keep in 
mind that his supporters aren’t going anywhere. 
I saw many families with young children 
donning MAGA hats and plenty of people my age 

expressing their support for Trump’s message in 
other ways. 

They are Americans, just like us. I don’t think 

that the majority of the people at the rally are 
bad people. Yes, they may have adopted some 
negative beliefs propagated by social media and 
the Trump presidency, but they are humans. 
Things aren’t going to change overnight.

Becca Mahon - Assistant Photo Editor
Attending rallies for both Joe Biden and 

Donald Trump within a 24 hour period made the 
differences in the two candidates plainly clear. 

To me, the starkest contrast was in the 

interactions between the candidates and their 
respective supporters. Biden’s Detroit event was 
attended by a couple hundred people, who were 
encouraged to stay in their cars and honk in lieu 
of applause. The next day at a rally in Macomb, 
Trump spoke to a crowd of a few thousand people 
packed tightly around the stage. 

When he pointed out the media area behind 

them, referencing what he called the “fake 
news”, the crowd turned and chanted “CNN 
lies!” at the press, while Trump watched silently 
from the stage. Being on the receiving end of this 
was unsettling to say the least. 

Visually, this year’s election day certainly 

looks different. However, the importance of 
voting and being present during trying times 
is something that drove this election and will 
continue to drive every election to come.

An intimate look at the 2020 Presidential Election 

GABBY CERITANO/Daily

Students for Biden share their support on campus Tuesday afternoon 

LUKE HALES/Daily

VOTE!

ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily

Ann Arbor’s famous violin-playing wolf howls and plays music for students waiting to vote outside of the UMMA 
Tuesday afternoon.

ANNIE KLUSENDORF/Daily

A band plays for students waiting in line to vote at the UMMA on Election Day.

MADELINE HINKLEY/Daily
JARETT ORR/Daily

THE PHOTO STAFF

For The Daily

