5 November 2025

For two politics nerds, watching the US election unfold was both a dream and a nightmare. Sometimes we wished we weren’t so glued to the news coverage of what was going on but we strapped ourselves in for the rollercoaster that was to come, unable to do anything to influence the outcome.

As outsiders, the whole system seems just a little bit bonkers. The sheer length of the thing for starters. A UK election was called only shortly after our arrival in the US, the ballot held a month later (at which we were able to vote thanks to a well timed trip back in June) and a new Prime Minister installed the day after the polls closed. All done and dusted in about 35 days.

Yet before we’d even arrived in the country the US election had already been rumbling along since late 2022 with candidates announcing their plan to run and then primary elections and caucuses to choose the candidates.

It was already clear when we arrived that this election was not going to be without drama. Former President Donald Trump had already declared his intention to run again after his defeat in 2020 and current President Joe Biden was already looking and sounding a little bit old for hanging on to the job.

Being mainly in the southern Republician supporting States, we decided on a cautious approach to conversations about the election. We had only a handful of fairly guarded and casual chats with strangers along the way about their politics. We found our British accents and feigned ignorance to be great cover for finding out which side of the fence they fell on.

By the time we arrived in Deltaville, yard signs helped us identify exactly where their votes were going. We weren’t sure what this election was doing for neighbourly relations but there was something of an equal split between Republican and Democrat amongst those living along General Puller Highway.

Early on it was clear that the key issue for those we spoke to was the economy. There was no doubt that everyday groceries were expensive. We had noticed it ourselves as soon as we arrived. Our weekly shop was undeniable a lot more expensive than it would be in Europe. Trump’s promises to Make Groceries Affordable Again on billboards on the way to the supermarket would undoubtedly resonate with many joining us for their weekly shop in Walmart in Gloucester.

There were times when it felt very surreal indeed watching key moments of the campaigns take place in real time. We were on board Pintail when the news broke that shots had been heard at Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania. Whilst we tried to find a reliable news channel, messages from Meredith updated us on what she was hearing. Eventually, we followed along with a trusty BBC reporter taking eye witness accounts from those who had close by, live from the scene. We watched in horror at the idea of such political violence. If we hadn’t guessed it before, we were now in no doubt that this was not going to be like any UK election.

And that was going to be only the first of many pivotal moments we watched with open mouths, devouring round the clock coverage on the news and in podcasts until we thought we actually finally understood the complicated voting system.

The Presidential debate was an indication, if we needed it, of the character of the candidates. It was astonishing to us that a man who, without Harris’ bold introduction and handshake, would not have had the civility to even greet his opponent and conducted the debate without once looking in her direction. Not only that but there seemed a complete void where Trump’s proposed policy should be.

Watching the Vice Presidential debate with Meredith in Maryland – we knew there was trouble ahead. In complete contrast to his running mate, JD Vance came across too well, conciliatory and measured – a climate change denier, yes, pro life, definitely, but a consummate politician for sure. Tim Walz on the other hand stumbled from the start and was easily tripped up, seeming not as well prepared but honest and frankly, very much less smarmy.

Election day came when we were in Athens, Georgia. Powerless to do anything but watch. We distracted ourselves with a trip to see the bears, accidently finding ourselves parking at a polling station. There was an almost festival atmosphere complete with live DJ set from DJs at the Polls and another stall offering free snacks. (Those are things we wish our UK democratic process could adopt!) In this Republican stronghold we watched a while as people came and went, trying to work out who they might be voting for and went to bed that night hoping they had chosen a less hate and fear filled future.

The outcome of US elections can sometimes take a while, as individual States process the votes in different ways and especially when the counts are close as everyone predicted this one would be. Potentially it could be a few days before a final result was known. So it came as a bit of a shock to us when we woke early the next morning to the news that Donald Trump was likely to win by a bigger than expected margin.

We felt sad – sad for a country that is in urgent need of unity not division, sad for a world that needs the stable, secure leadership of the States with everything else that’s going on, sad for our friends and their kids’ futures

and really, really sad for Kamala Harris. What an incredible campaign she had fought. It seemed to us that her own personal story embodying the American dream, her years of public service in California as Attorney General, her more recent record as Vice President, her optimistic pleas for justice, equality and joy made her the model candidate. Yet somehow her message just didn’t reach far enough. Perhaps, coming into the campaign at such a late stage, she didn’t stand a chance. Perhaps she could never win over all those male voters. But, boy, did she give it absolutely everything she had.

The election result was another thing that meant we didn’t feel inclined to stick around in the States for much longer. We were determined to leave before another Trump inauguration in January so we had to squeeze as much into our remaining time as possible…