Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Aug 04, 2025

VI watches hotly disputed US election

VI watches hotly disputed US election

The closely watched United States presidential election proved to be a tight race, as patrons at one watch party in East End noted by cracking jokes about “Dewey wins!,” the infamous headline printed by newspapers that prematurely called the 1948 US election results incorrectly.

Starting on Tuesday, viewers here and abroad have been avidly tracking the results of a race too close to call before the Beacon’s deadline yesterday afternoon, even as incumbent President Donald Trump claimed “victory” from the White House.

Late Tuesday evening, a few dozen people sat under the string lights of Red Rock Restaurant & Cafe in East End, bantering about the state of US politics, participating in a mock election to predict the next president, and pausing any time an alert flashed across the television screens broadcasting results.

Several attendees recalled the atmosphere surrounding the US elections four years ago, when Mr. Trump defeated Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton despite polls indicating otherwise.

Tortola resident Paul Abrahams said he came out to watch the election mostly out of curiosity, given the heightened anticipation of the results compared to 2016. He accurately predicted at the beginning of the evening that the race would be too close to call on Tuesday.

“It’s going to be tight — it’s going to be a nail-biter tonight,” he said.

Reflecting on the past few years, Mr. Abrahams said he doesn’t necessarily dislike Mr. Trump as a person, but he expressed concern that the US leader has been inflaming tensions around the world, particularly with blistering rhetoric about military families, people of colour, women and journalists.

“I’m just tired of the things that come out of Trump’s mouth,” he added.

Christine Bancheri, a Virgin Islands belonger who voted in the Massachusetts race after receiving her ballot via email, said she believed it was important to vote this year, explaining that people who don’t participate don’t have much of a leg to stand on when objecting to the results.

She said this point was hammered home for her when she didn’t vote in the last election because of travel constraints.


Controversy


Ms. Bancheri also noted the controversy this year as Mr. Trump has sown doubt about the validity of the election.


Since the Beacon went to press Wednesday evening, the state of Michigan was called for candidate Joe Biden, adding 16 electoral votes to his total.


During a speech early yesterday morning, the president falsely claimed that he had won the race despite the fact that not all the votes had been tallied, and suggested that he would go to the US Supreme Court to stop the remaining votes from being counted.

The president’s claims have been heard around the world. Here, Mr. Abrahams said regardless of who wins, he doesn’t believe the election was fair.

“I think this is a rigged election, but they’re not saying rigged in whose favour,” said Mr. Abrahams, who added that he would prefer to see Mr. Biden win but wasn’t optimistic. “Just like 2016, it’s a possibility Trump might win again.”

But Ms. Bancheri, a self-employed graduate of Rutgers Law School in New Jersey, noted that the US has a long history of controversial elections, and she shared the story of the disputed election of 1876. That year, Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes won against Democratic candidate Samuel Tilden, but the results were marred by disputes that were not resolved until congressmen struck an informal deal that ended the Reconstruction Era by pulling federal troops out of the South.

“If we are not students of history, we delude ourselves,” she said. “I have faith in the system, ultimately. Many people don’t. Now, the reason I have faith in the system is because the system has worked for me all these years. If it hadn’t, I probably wouldn’t.”

Looking ahead, Mr. Abrahams said that if his prediction comes true, the US can likely expect more of the same from Mr. Trump.

“If he didn’t change for the past four years, I don’t see no way on God’s earth he’s going to change for the next four years,” he said. “It’s only going to get worse.”

Red Rock owner Carris Penn said he wanted to host a watch party at the restaurant both as a reopening for the season and to provide a space for people to discuss the results as they were announced.


Not excited


But other watch parties included quieter reflection during the broadcast. One of the bars televising the presidential results was the Watering Hole in Road Town, where the handful of patrons stayed fairly calm as results started to roll in.

Most attendees weren’t paying much attention to the election, and those who were seemed mostly indifferent about the outcome.

When it came down to who would make a better president, several people seemed to believe that neither candidate was up for the job.

“I just hope that Trump doesn’t win,” said Kelton Edwards, a Jamaican, while someone nearby said he thought Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator known for championing democratic-socialist causes, should have been the Democratic nominee.

At Aromas in the nearby Cyril B. Romney Tortola Pier Park, a group of friends were similarly divided.

Some of them felt that Mr. Trump’s rhetoric has emboldened racists and preyed on people’s worst tendencies.

But others thought that his outsider perspective brought needed change to the US political system, and commended him for presiding over a particularly strong economy before the Covid-19 pandemic ripped it to tatters.
Caribbean perspective


As the results from the United States election rolled in Tuesday night, patrons of the Watering Hole expressed only mild interest in the presidential race, with hardly anyone seeming enthusiastic about either candidate.


Caribbean perspective


Virgin Islander Benito Wheatley, special envoy of Premier Andrew Fahie and policy fellow for the Centre for Science and Policy at the University of Cambridge, speculated yesterday afternoon that initial predictions and polls may have placed too much emphasis on the importance of Mr. Trump’s response to the pandemic, leading to a better-than-anticipated performance on his part and a closer overall election.

He added that it was interesting to note how Caribbean-American voters cast their ballots in states like Florida and Texas.

Information from exit polls, he said, suggested that these voters, who didn’t vote in a monolithic block, seemed to prioritise factors other than Covid-19, such as a perception that Mr. Trump positively influenced the economy prior to the pandemic or an aversion to messages depicting Mr. Biden as a socialist candidate.

The final results of the election remain to be seen, but Mr. Wheatley told the Beacon that one aspect that countries outside the US seem to be taking away is that the country remains deeply divided.

“I received a number of messages from friends in Europe and other places who said American politics is very baffling to them,” he said. “They are surprised that the election could be this close. … There’s a significant segment of the population that clearly supports President Trump, and that is something that the rest of the world will have to come to grips with at some point.”


By the numbers


As of Beacon press time yesterday afternoon, Democratic candidate Joe Biden was leading the race to the 270 electoral votes needed for a win, with 237 votes, according to data from The New York Times based on National Election Pool/Edison Research.

But Mr. Trump wasn’t far behind with 214 votes, and he had already announced plans to request a recount in the closely fought state of Wisconsin, which the Associated Press called for Mr. Biden yesterday afternoon.

By that time, it seemed that the race would come down largely to such battleground states, which also include Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Arizona has 11 electoral votes, Michigan has 16, Pennsylvania has 20, and Wisconsin has 10. Shortly after the Beacon went to press, Michigan was called for Mr. Biden. If he were to win the two other states where he held a lead, he would win the presidency.

The races in all four states remained close as of yesterday afternoon. Mr. Trump held a modest lead in Pennsylvania, but Mr. Biden led in the other three.

As of press time, the states of Alaska, Georgia, Nevada, and North Carolina also did not yet have projected winners.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
Declassified Annex Links Soros‑Affiliated Officials and Clinton Campaign to ‘Russiagate’ Narrative
UK's Online Safety Law: A Front for Censorship
Nationwide Protests Erupt in Brazil Demanding Presidential Resignation
Parents Abandon Child at Barcelona Airport Over Passport Issue
Mystery Surrounds Death of Brazilian Woman with iPhones Glued to Her Body
Bus Driver Discovers Toddler Hidden in Suitcase in New Zealand
Switzerland Celebrates 734 Years of Independence Amid Global Changes
U.S. Opens Official Investigation into Former Trump Prosecutor Jack Smith
Leaked audio of Canada's new PM Mark Carney admitting the truth about the Net Zero agenda: "We're gonna make a lot of money off of this."
China Enforces Comprehensive Ban on Cryptocurrency Activities
Absolutely 100% Realistic EVO Series Doll by EXDOLL (Chinese Company) used mainly for carnal purposes
World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab: "In this new world, we must accept... total transparency. You have to get used to it. You have to behave accordingly. But if you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't be afraid."
Meet Mufti Hamid Patel, head of Office for Standards in Education in Pakistan
George Soros tells the World Economic Forum: "President Trump is a con man and the ultimate narcissist, who wants the world to revolve around him."
Hamas are STARVING the hostages.
Decline in Tourism in Majorca Amidst Ongoing Anti-Tourism Protests
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
Poland Begins Excavation at Dziemiany After New Clue to World War II‑Era Nazi Treasure
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Threatens Canada with Tariffs Over Palestinian State Recognition
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Trump Sues Murdoch in “Heavyweight Bout”: Lawsuit Over Alleged Epstein Letter Sets Stage for Courtroom Showdown
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
J.K. Rowling Limits Public Engagements Citing Safety Fears
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
×