It took four days, but he did it: Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, defeating incumbent Donald J. Trump. The delay was largely based around the record number of absentee ballots, which in some key states, including Pennsylvania, weren’t allowed to be counted until Election Day. That meant that a lot of Biden votes weren’t counted till later in the week, and when they were, they revealed that enough of the state had voted blue than to flip the state, which had gone Trump four years prior.
While Trump will surely not go quietly — and will almost certainly spend the next 2 ½ months filing endless lawsuits all over the nation — for now Biden voters can breathe a huge sigh of relief. Some got emotional. One was CNN’s Van Jones, who was on air Saturday morning when the news network called the election for Biden.
Van Jones breaks down in tears on CNN:
"Telling the truth matters, being a good person matters" pic.twitter.com/WUyUExiaJu
— Isaac (@WorldofIsaac) November 7, 2020
When asked about his thoughts on the win, Jones, who rose to prominence after his passionate statements about Trump right after he was elected in 2016, initially couldn’t speak. He was choking back tears. Even as he delivered a beautiful ode to what a Trump defeat means for so many people, he had trouble getting the words out. Here, in its entirety, is what Jones said:
Well, it’s easier to be a parent this morning. It’s easier to be a dad. It’s easier to tell your kids, ‘character matters.’ It matters. Telling the truth matters. Being a good person matters. And it’s easier for a whole lot of people. If you’re Muslim in this country, you don’t have to worry if the president doesn’t want you here. If you’re an immigrant, you don’t have to worry if the president’s going to be happier to have babies snatched away or send Dreamers back for no reason. This is vindication for a lot of people who have really suffered.
You know ‘I Can’t Breathe’? That wasn’t just George Floyd. That was a lot of people who felt they couldn’t breathe. Every day, you’re waking up and you’re getting these tweets, and you just don’t know. And you go into a store and people who have been afraid to show their racism are getting nastier and nastier to you. And you’re worrying about your kids and you’re worrying about your sister. And can she go to Wal-Mart and can she get back into her car without somebody saying something to her. And you spent so much of your life and energy just trying to hold it together.
And this is a big deal for us just to be able to get some peace and have a chance for a reset. And the character of the country matters. And being a good man matters. I just want my sons to look at this. Look at this. It’s easy to do it the cheap way and get away with stuff. But it comes back around. It comes back around. And it is a good day for this country. I’m sorry for the people who lost. For them it’s not a good day. But for a whole lot of people it’s a good day.
Well said. If you’re reading this, go celebrate. Worry about what Trump will do next another day.