Opinion: No Election Day result, but heavy Trump vote shows America has already lost

Good morning, and welcome to hell, or as it’s known in modern-day America, “the day after Election Day.”

We still don’t know who won, largely because tens of millions of voters still think Donald Trump is the kind of person who should be president, despite an internet worth of evidence that says otherwise.

As most of us went to bed Tuesday night, the election remained too close to call, hinging on a handful of swing states.

No Election Day results, but definitely no Harris landslide

Supporters of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris spent most of the night repeatedly saying, “What? Are you serious?” as it became clear she wasn’t going to run away with a victory.

And I assume Trump supporters spent most of the night saying of the convicted felon who stumbled through the end of his campaign babbling nonsense, “YEAH! OF COURSE HE'S WINNING! HE IS INFALLIBLE!”

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And so here we are. Waking up to a world in which Trump has a solid chance of again becoming president

One thing we know from Election Day is that America is messed up

I can say nothing to soothe the nerves of those who find him repellant. But I can say this, which will help absolutely no one: Regardless of who wins at this point, America has lost.

Maybe the better way of phrasing that is, “America IS lost.”

I know Trump has a passionate base that wouldn’t care if he burned an American flag while wearing devil horns, but it’s clear a whole lot of other folks voted for him as well. For a former one-term president who is synonymous with chaos. For a man convicted of fraud, an adjudicated rapist, a man charged with a multitude of federal crimes, including attempting to overturn the 2020 election.

In no logical society would he stand a chance. But he most certainly does in America.

If he wins, it will be a victory for bullying and ineptitude.

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Even if Harris wins, America has already lost

And if Harris winds up winning? That’ll be good, because it saves us from Trump. But the tightness of the race will make it easier for him to cry foul.

And the sheer volume of people who voted for him shows us, again, how sharply divided the nation is, with a massive swath wholly unconcerned with fundamental societal concepts like facts and honesty.

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So we buckle up and let the counting resume Wednesdayday. Harris supporters, pray or say your incantations or do whatever you do to guide the forces of good in the right direction.

Trump supporters sit there and feel smug, I suppose. Whatever.

But while we wait for an end result, the result from Election Day is already crystal clear: America doesn’t know who it is, and there’s no sign of that changing anytime soon.

Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on X, formerly Twitter, @RexHuppke and Facebook facebook.com/RexIsAJerk

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Opinion: Will Trump win? His showing with voters proves America lost