by Kyle K Mann
Gonzo Today Contributing Editor and Publisher
3:00 PM Pacific time, November 5, 2024 – Polls have just closed in the first Eastern USA states. Here we go.
3:30 PT – Switched away from Public Television in disgust. I’ve landed on the BBC from the UK but had to mute it. Meanwhile I’m listening to Steve Lookner at Agenda Free Television, an online website I find interesting. A friend turned me on to this guy a couple months ago. Thanks, bud.
Lookner is reporting the first results for Indiana. Indiana and Kentucky are safe states for Trump. 5% of the vote is in in Indiana with Trump at 62%. Not a surprise.
3:45 PT – Lookner is comparing the current vote percentages in Indiana with four years ago. Roughly the same. On the television, I’ve scrolled past MSNBC. Rachel Maddow, who I detest, looks worried. I can’t unmute, because I’ll be nauseated. Neither Indiana nor Kentucky, the only states reporting votes so far, have been called yet as far as I can see.
I squint at the tv screen. I’ve landed on CNN, which is reporting Trump’s Indiana vote is about 58%. No surprises yet. Bomb threats to polling locations in Georgia. Supposedly these threats are from Russia, according to the FBI, says Reuters. If that keeps up, it could get ugly.
4:00 PT – Polls closing now in Georgia, Virginia, South Carolina and Vermont. Georgia of course is a swing state, and the subject of much debate and legal action in the last election. CNN is too biased to watch. Wink wink, haha. But before I can switch, they call Kentucky for Trump and Vermont for Harris.
4:07 PT – Indiana called for Trump. Again, not a surprise.
4:15 PT – I’ve switched to NBC, who is discussing the Latino vote in Florida. They are saying Florida will report the votes there quickly. Since it’s safe for Trump, it doesn’t matter. Suddenly a commercial on NBC. Really? I’m moving on to CBS. They are breathlessly reporting from Harris Headquarters. I keep it muted.
4:20 PT – Lookner is analyzing the first returns from Georgia. Nothing firm yet. He’s going county by county, comparing the vote from 4 years ago. Steve Lookner is much more informative than anything I’ve seen on teevee. Google Agenda Free Television if you’re interested.
4:30 PT – Polls close in North Carolina, Virginia and Ohio. I’ve never considered North Carolina a swing state, despite the media insisting it is. CBS is running a promo for some FBI show. Yuck. ABC, an ad. Really? Democracy Now, can’t unmute it. Fox, who Trump was bashing earlier today. Perhaps disingenuously, eh?
4:40 PT – I’ve tried unmuting Fox. Fast paced stuff, if seemingly or even obviously biased to Trump. They are pointing out that Georgia was won by Biden by 11,000 votes in 2020. So far Trump is ahead “but that can change” they say. They are also big on North Carolina, won by Trump “by 75,000 votes” in 2020. Back to Georgia… “too early to call.” So far no commercials, which it seems to me, are simply crazy to run at this point. Oop a commercial for meat. “American meat delivered.” Really? Bye Bye.
4:50 PT – I failed to note that West Virginia is called for Trump. Not a surprise, of course. “A bunch more polls close in ten minutes” Steve Lookner is saying.
5:00 PT – I’ve landed on PBS, but I’m not sure I want to unmute. The panel looks unpleasant. Ok I’ll try. Uh, no. Muted. Lookner online is comparing 2020 to 2024 in Virginia. It appears like some counties there are tipping to Trump. If Trump takes Virginia, that’s huge. “Looks like Virginia is in play for Trump.” I don’t think the state will flip, myself. A lot more safe states called for Trump, Florida among them. 90-27 electoral votes for Trump so far. Still no surprises and no calls in swing states.
5:15 PT – Still trying to find a teevee election outlet I can tolerate. CNN with the sound muted… They have the Electoral College vote at 90 Trump, 27 Harris. Georgia still looking tight.
5:30 PT – Trump ahead in the total popular vote, CNN says. The announcer sounds mildly surprised. 99 Trump, 27 for Harris in the Electoral College. Trump ahead in Georgia, but it’s early. Lookner saying that NBC news is reporting that exit polls showing Latino men are voting for Trump. Another safe state called for Trump, Arkansas this time. 105 Trump, 27 Harris in the EC.
5:45 PT – Still nothing decided in the swing states. No surprises in the safe states. I’m still flipping teevee channels with the sound mostly muted. Trump ahead in GA but too early to call. Fox News says Harris doing better than expected in Ohio. Fox announcer sounds concerned. I mute. “This could take days, in the battleground states,” says Lookner, swigging down some water. He’s got 19k people watching him on YouTube, and a number more on other platforms. Lookner much easier to absorb from.
5:55 PT – A Senate seat got flipped to the Republicans. That’s so far. Looks like Virginia is going to be called for Harris, as expected. 15 sates to close at 6 Pacific.
6:00 PM Pacific Time – Phew, whole lotta states just got called. News Nation is on the teevee… trying to watch it with the sound up and digest Steve Lookner on Agenda Free Television. No clear trends in the swing states yet.
6:15 PM PT and the vote is Trump 194, Harris 95 on News Nation. On Fox it’s closer with Trump 178, Harris 113. The BBC is, strangely, Trump 154, Harris 30. Sheesh.
6:30 PM PT – The teevee changer has landed me on something called EWTN news. Never heard of it. …wow it’s a Catholic News Channel. OK that’s different. I try to watch but I’m not a Catholic and don’t like the commercial pitching religious stuff. Fox now has Trump 195, Harris 113. They say Ted Cruz has won re-election in Texas. That a surprise? CNN says Trump 154, Harris 53. I’m getting cognitive dissonance.
6:45 PM PT – No battleground states called yet. Delays reported in Georgia, CNN states. “Appears to be a problem” says the reporter in Gwinnett County. They call New York for Harris, no surprise. They cut to Harris Headquarters, give a quick report, then go to Trump HQ in Florida. With New York included, it’s Trump 154, Harris 81.
I haven’t eaten today. How about a break? Down in the kitchen, Steve Lookner’s voice mixes strangely with the audio of the CNN election analysis. He’s grumbling that the commentators on his You Tube channel are mad that the vote isn’t faster. “Don’t take it out on me,” he growls. “I don’t count the votes.”
7:00 PM PT – Polls close in more states. CNN calls Louisiana for Trump. No surprise. CNN says there are problems in counting the votes in Nevada, because of the signature requirement. Long lines there.
Exhausting for everyone, including me. My mind snaps back to 1960, the first election I recall. I was 8. I remember my fascination with the revolving numbers, like on an odometer. My parents were anxious JFK voters. What happened in Cook County that day arguably changed the election.
It’s seven… They call a bunch of western states for Trump. Doesn’t matter. Only the Blue Wall and Arizona are going to make a difference, assuming Georgia and North Carolina go Trump. I say again, NC is not a surprise as I see it. Georgia is huge. Trump is leading so far.
7:15 PM PT – “I have to get a snack, this is not sustainable,” Steve Lookner laughs. He goes off screen. That leaves me with CNN. Trump 178, Harris 91, they say. Harris ahead in Virginia by a razor-thin 1,000 vote margin.
7:30 PM PT – Back to Fox News. They have Trump 205, Harris 117. Commercial, bye.
News Nation, Trump 226, Harris 108. They are saying it looks bad for Harris if Trump wins Georgia and North Carolina. If Trump wins those two and takes Pennsylvania, it’s over. “We still have a lot of votes to count.”
7:32 PM PT – North Carolina and Georgia are called for Trump, according to multiple sources.
7:40 PM PT – So it’s down to the blue wall states. Iowa called for Trump. Some poll claimed Harris was up 3 points in Iowa. CBS News is focusing on the blue wall. ABC… this is the first time I’ve clicked on the cable and they weren’t doing a commercial. Like CBS they are noodling the numbers in blue wall states. And it doesn’t look good for Harris. So far. Still too close.
8:00 PM PT – MSNBC trying to put a good face on it. They are still not calling North Carolina or Georgia. That’s sad. Rachel Maddow, who I despise as deeply as I can despise a teevee figure, looks bitter already.
If you ask me, it’s over. But I’ve been wrong before, of course. I never thought North Carolina was a swing state, I’ll say again.
8:15 PM PT – Sherrod Brown just lost his Senate race in Ohio. The Republicans have flipped two seats and now have 50, with 8 races to be decided. I’m calling the Senate for the Democrats because of the Senate race in Montana, likely to flip red. PBS looking sober and concerned. Fox, cheerful.
News Nation sticking with their Georgia and North Carolina calls for Trump.
8:30 PM PT – I heave a big sigh. Long lines in Clark County, Nevada. Really don’t want controversy, we need a clear decision. Steve Lookner at Agenda Free TV is saying Wisconsin is looking bad for Harris. AP News has finally called North Carolina for Trump, though the Republicans lost the state’s gubernatorial race.
8:45 PM PT – MSNBC is calling it 230 for Trump, and Harris 185 Electoral College vote, with 270 the goal. They are sounding distressed. CBS has Trump 227, Harris 172. Senator Rubio saying food costs a big factor in the election. Bernie Moreno in Ohio may wind up the Senior Senator from his state at this rate.
9:00 PM PT – I’m still enjoying Steve Lookner at Agenda Free TV, as NBC calls Hawaii, unsurprisingly, for Harris. Trump is leading in the battleground blue wall states and Arizona. Still “too close to call.”
Midnight on the East Coast. This could go all night. Or not.
9:15 PM PT – For what it’s worth, I continue to feel this race is over. Steve Lookner has a banner on his page saying “Experts say results looking favorable for Trump” and he’s pretty careful, as we have seen tonight. So we wait, and Georgia seems to be stopped as far as vote count, as is Pennsylvania, and Arizona and Nevada. It’s a bit odd.
Trump is reported to be in a motorcade, presumably heading for his Florida election headquarters.
9:30 PM PT – Harris supporters are said to be leaving the campaign headquarters celebration room. All news outlets are sounding like it’s done. Trump’s lead is too big in these battleground states. No word from Harris, as Steve Lookner is pointing out, adding she should say something to her supporters. He says CBS News is reporting she will not speak, and notes “Everything is suggesting that Trump will win. You’d think she would say something.”
It’s over, except for the actual call. But then comes the next questions. Will the Democrats accept this, and will they certify the election results? Oh the irony. Reuters, CNN and NBC just called Georgia for Trump.
9:45 PM PT – PBS announcers are looking grim. The second guessing has begun. AP News still refusing to call Georgia for Trump. PBS talking it up.
10:00 PM PT – Trump is going to be whooping it up sometime soon. Fox News is looking cheerful. Karl Rove gloating. I despise Rove, but there he is, his face making me feel sick. With the Senate in their control, the Republicans will be able to push their agenda. No word yet about the House races.
10:15 PM PT – It’s a remarkable comeback for Trump, as he heads to a West Palm Beach convention center. Not too long ago, Trump’s detractors had him behind bars. I’m watching various cable stations, but with a reduced interest. MSNBC is hurting, with Maddow, who I rank with Karl Rove, trying to put a good face on her dismay. She’s snarking, but looks poorly.
10:45 PM PT – Not much news now as we wait for Trump to speak. I think if there was one moment in this campaign that sticks out higher than the rest, I’d call it the first assassination attempt, blood and all.
It turned him into Super Trump.
10:50 PM PT – Fox News is calling Wisconsin for Trump. It’s over over. AP has not called it, but believe me, Harris is done.
11:00 PM Pacific time on Election Day 2024. Harris lost this because she came off a phony, changing her positions and even spoken accents to pander to whoever she and her handlers thought she needed to influence. She came off, even more than Trump, as being willing to do anything to gain power. Trump was a known politician, gross and disgusting, but she was a total unknown who, until she took over the Democratic nomination from an obviously senile Biden, stood for very little aside from a desire to overturn the overturn of Roe V. Wade. Her obnoxious cackle and total inability and unwillingness to speak in a news conference didn’t help.
NBC news just called Pennsylvania for Trump.
11:50 PM PT – I just watched the first ten minutes or so of Trump’s victory speech, then turned it off, actually shutting the cable down. It’s been a shocking experience, channel surfing the election coverage. I watch very little television. It’s the first time I’ve watched outfits like MSNBC or Fox in years. Looking at the news creatures is appalling and the commercials absolutely intolerable, in a way I doubt television enthusiasts can even understand. Television is truly hideous. Except for certain sporting contests, of course.
The Democratic Party is in a shambles. They held on to Biden until it became obvious during the debate that he was so demented that it could no long be concealed, and then tried to replace him with his non-entity Vice President, a deeply unpopular figure nationwide.
Waiting for Trump to officially get to 270 Electoral Votes. He’s at 266. I’ve reduced my election exposure to just listening to Steve Lookner on Agenda Free TV while I type.
I feel sorry for people in the Middle East. I’m not a fan of the collective punishment Israel deals out. I feel bad about the drill-baby-drill promises. Fracking, ugh. Harris had to flip on that. She never made it sound sincere, whatever position she took. And Trump’s extrajudicial killings? Like most of his predecessors, he’s already committed war crimes.
OK, waiting for 270. You still with me? Trump will win Alaska’s three EC votes. That will put him at 269.
2:30 AM PT, Wednesday, November 6, 2024 – I’m still waiting for this to be over, but despite several states reporting a significant Trump lead and a large majority of the votes counted, no one besides Fox is calling it for Trump. Fox says Trump wins in Wisconsin, which the numbers seem to bear out.
Yawn. But it’s even worse for those following the election’s last gasp back east. Three hours later for them…
They just called Wisconsin for Trump. It’s ovah, at last. Now they’ve added Alaska. But it’s ironic that they called Wisconsin for Trump first to give him the presidency because it was the state that put him over the top back in 2016.
I fervently hope we can all heal up from this, and go on amicably.
Thanks to all readers, and Good Fortunes to all.
Kyle K Mann
Portland, OR
Nov. 6, 2024
