The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Multimedia
Wednesday, November 11, 2020 — 5
Shows after 6pm $599
$499
$399
Shows b/w noon - 6pm
Shows before noon
Ticket includes a
FREE 46 oz. Popcorn!
Safety Plan in Place #CinemaSafe
Your Neighborhood Theater!
Bring this coupon to Quality 16 to receive
10% off your entire concession order.
Offer valid one transaction per person. Not valid with any other offers.
Valid only for concession items at GQT Quality 16. Expires 12-23-2020.
10% OFF
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