Elation and Anger Erupt in America's Streets

As soon as the news buzzed on their phones, Americans gathered spontaneously on street corners and front lawns—honking their horns, banging pots and pans, starting impromptu dance parties—as an agonizingly vitriolic election and exhausting four-day wait for results came to an end Saturday morning. And for all that joy, there was equal parts sorrow, anger, and mistrust on the other side, the AP reports. Among the reactions:

• Just after the AP and other news organizations declared that Joe Biden beat President Trump, fireworks erupted in Atlanta. In Maine, a band playing at a farmers' market broke into the Battle Hymn of the Republic. In Louisville, Kentucky, Biden supporters gathered on their lawns to toast with champagne.
• A crowd gathered in Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House to celebrate Biden's win, NBC Washington reports. "Bye bye, Donald Trump," a woman said over and over in a megaphone. People chanted "Black lives matter" and sang "Na Na Na Na Hey Hey-ey Goodbye."
• In Manhattan, they danced in the streets, banged cowbells, and honked their car horns. In Brooklyn, they chanted "the nightmare is over." Lola Faleit, a 26-year-old human resources manager in New York City, said that "It's surreal, I feel like I'm free from the clutches of evil. I feel less worried for my immigrant friends. In 2016, we woke up crying. Today we are celebrating."
• Trump's supporters have for days been protesting outside of ballot-counting operations, alleging without evidence that the slow-moving results were proof of cheating. "This isn't over! This isn't over! Fake news!" some of Trump's supporters shouted as they gathered at the Georgia State Capitol after news organizations' decision to call the election.
• Some 75 Trump-supporting protesters had gathered Saturday morning outside the election tabulation center in downtown Phoenix, where the counting remains underway. Shortly after the news broke, Jake Angeli yelled, “This election has not been called! ... They got their hands caught in the cookie jar and we're going to the Supreme Court!"
• Trump activists were assembling in state capitols and calling for peaceful protests, the Washington Post reports. The rallies were in support of "Stop the Steal," a group that got booted from Facebook for inciting violence and promoting misinformation.
• Positive responses are trickling in from officials in France, Germany, and Italy, the AP reports. "After the birth of my son, the election of Joe Biden is by far the best news of this year," said a city official in Berlin.

(More Election 2020 stories.)