WASHINGTON, D.C.— They brought brunch to the plaza. I counted at least three bottles of Veuve Cliquot, clutched by revelers taking advantage of the unseasonable warmth to celebrate Joe Biden’s projected win over President Trump. Others drank André. Millennials danced to music blaring from bluetooth speakers, snapping selfies and chugging White Claw. The demonstrators were young.
There have been a lot of big crowds at Black Lives Matter Plaza this year, a strip of 16th Street just north of the White House, but Saturday’s crowd dwarfed them all. A veritable ocean of celebrants rolled down 16th Street for hours, hooping and hollering endlessly in the warm November sun, a sweaty testament to our capital city’s obsessive hatred of Trump.
Biden supporters pass a bottle of Veuve Clicquot outside the White House pic.twitter.com/mOdgWtRDCx
— The Federalist (@FDRLST) November 7, 2020
Popping champagne in BLM Plaza pic.twitter.com/DbXmSlVys2
— The Federalist (@FDRLST) November 7, 2020
They brought brunch to the plaza. pic.twitter.com/L5bAJsXyb3
— Emily Jashinsky (@emilyjashinsky) November 7, 2020
https://twitter.com/FDRLST/status/1325139831324897282?s=20
https://twitter.com/FDRLST/status/1325165221707542532?s=20
Most wore masks, but the plaza was packed so densely it was hard to move, a strange way to celebrate the election of a man who wants to implement a national mask mandate, the leader of a party that is crushing small business to keep people apart.
Churches in D.C. have been shuttered for months, but on Saturday the Beltway’s true religion had a revival and nobody said a word about coronavirus. These, of course, are the very people who’ve urged crowd restrictions and mail-in voting on the rest of the country, shouting in a tightly packed crowd dotted with cheerful Boomers.
“Thank you, Stacey!” they chanted over and over again. People climbed street signs and bus stops. I literally saw one girl skip. Another marveled that fate gifted them with a projected Biden win on a Saturday. What luck!
The party will surely stretch long into the evening, fueled by booze and relief and disposable income. Four years of fascism and you’d think such revelry would be banned.
Nevertheless, as Biden prepares to assume office, Washington will sip champagne elbow-to-elbow, separated by as little distance as the vote itself.