TAMPA, Fla. -- Very differing rallies were held throughout Florida today, as Biden-Harris supporters took to the streets to celebrate their victory and Trump-Pence supporters headed out to protest the results of the 2020 Presidential Election.
Celebrations had been a long time coming for Biden-Harris supporters who waited four days following Election Day to find out whether their candidate would win the presidency. For them, those four days only gave their excitement more time to build.
“The exciting part is knowing that we have a victory, at 270 electoral votes, that we need for President Biden to come in and help this country in a pandemic,” said Wanda Swift Wilson, a Biden-Harris supporter who celebrated the victory in Tampa.
Supporters of different backgrounds, ages, genders and races joined together at Casa Biden in Tampa on Saturday, immediately after Joe Biden was declared president-elect.
“The first Pacific Asian woman ever on our ticket, that is just great. That’s what I like, I like it for all my brothers and sisters in India, 'hey, it’s a great day,'” said Myron Jones, a Biden-Harris supporter who celebrated the victory in Tampa.
Supporters expressed what they each felt, individually, was the true victory of the news.
“I’m very hopeful that our children, my daughter, our friends that are minorities and immigrants, that they’ll all have the same opportunities afforded to them over the course of this administration,” said Katie Hartman, a Biden-Harris supporter who celebrated the victory in Tampa.
Meanwhile in Tallahassee, and across the country, Trump supporters protested at state capitol buildings.
Around 100 Trump voters showed their support for the president as part of a "Stop the Steal" protest.
“We are all out here because we love what Donald Trump has done for the nation,” a Trump-Pence supporter said during a protest in Tallahassee.
Trump supporters in Tallahassee echoed President Trump's unsubstantiated allegations that the Democrats won by fraud.
“A lot of legal analysts say there really isn't much there and much hope of changing the results. At this point is really not about changing results. It's about Trump proving to his supporters that he would fight to get every vote counted. That's what it's really about,” said Susan MacManus, our ABC Action News Political Analyst.
Trump supporters warn, however, that their fight is far from over.
The rallies don't end here. Both parties plan to hold celebrations and protests over the course of the next several days.
