Shortly before four, Pat Klipp is still full of hope. “It’s not over until it’s over,” says the African-American woman with the voluminous head of hair and long red fingernails. On the big screens in the “Champions” bar in Frankfurt’s Marriott Hotel, CNN’s “Key State Projections” are shown again and again, the forecasts for the swing states, those states in which it is likely that who will win the presidential election will be decided United States wins. Klipp, who has lived in Germany for almost forty years, is married to a German and works as a professional singer, believes that <a href="http://www.world-today-news.com/donald-trump-whats-behind-the-us-presidents-baltimore-attack/" title="Donald Trump: What's behind the US President's Baltimore attack”>Kamala Harris will win. After all, the Democrat has a clear majority of American women behind her, and many Republicans are now against Donald Trump.
Just like Ralph Freund. And he is still confident at this point. “If Harris takes Pennsylvania and North Carolina, then it’s over for her.” However, Trump already has a narrow lead in North Carolina at this point, and things are also looking good for him in Georgia. Freund is a Republican and is on the board of Republicans Overseas, the Trump Party’s foreign organization – but he would like the Democratic candidate to win. “It’s a balancing act before the Lord,” he says, “but here in Germany there are practically no Trumpists.”
“What a difference a day makes”: Pat Klipp follows the reporting on CNN.Jasper Hill
The long election night began in the “Champions” bar shortly after eleven. A good hundred guests have come, around midnight they crowd the bar and feast on hamburgers, chicken wings and Caesar salad at the tables – and Thomas Leiser has already given three or four interviews. The president of the American-German Business Club organized the election party at the Marriott Hotel together with the Steuben-Schurz Society and the Europa-Union and is now answering questions from radio reporters and television crews. Like Ralph Freund, Leiser is actually a Republican and voted for Trump in 2016. “But the man was unworthy as president and a complete disaster.” And that’s why the chemical manager, who has lived in Germany for decades, is hoping for a Democratic victory this time. In contrast to many others in the bar, however, he is skeptical from the start and follows the developments on the screens with increasing concern.
Close friends but disagreeing: Rob and James voted differently.Jasper Hill
While CNN reporter legend John King classifies the forecasts and explains one “Electoral Map” after the other, Brian Heath arrives around half past twelve. The new American consul general in Frankfurt comes straight from an election party in Stuttgart – and remains diplomatically silent. He says he is pleased about the great interest in the election in his home country and then shakes a few more hands.
“We have strong democratic institutions”
James and Rob joined the party guests quite by chance. The two Americans, who prefer not to reveal their full names, work “for the government” and came to the hotel after a conference. They are close friends, as they say – but are on different sides in this election: James voted for Trump and wants a leaner state, Rob voted for Harris and calls Trump “unelectable” because of the storming of the Capitol. However, the two agree that the election will be fair and compliant with the rules. “We have strong democratic institutions,” says Rob. “And America is not nearly as divided as you think here in Europe,” James adds.
Charlie Austin sees it differently. The septuagenarian, who has lived in Germany for 30 years, came wearing a purple T-shirt with the words “Democrats Abroad.” He finds the idea of a second Trump presidency frightening. “We know what kind of man he is – and I can’t understand why so many people are voting for him.”
As the results finally flicker across the screens, the tables in the “Champions” bar gradually empty. And while the remaining guests are still discussing possible constellations in the swing states, Pat Klipp sings a song: “What a difference a day makes” by Dinah Washington. When Donald Trump gave his victory speech to cheering supporters in Florida shortly before half past eight German time, she, like all the other visitors to the Frankfurt election party, had long since returned home.
