It used to be the ritual for news travel: Land. Baggage claim. Rent a big SUV.
But two advances have allowed for a happy alternative.
Technology has made the camera and editing crates smaller. The other: Uber.
Without the need of a car, my colleague and I ride-shared this week to and from Howard University in Washington for the election night celebration that never happened, and the somber concession speech that did .
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It was then, while looking out at the stunned crowd, many of them students in tears, I got to thinking about our Uber rides. More specifically our Uber drivers.
They were definitely “working class.” None had college degrees. Most were immigrants. All were people of color.
And each one had voted for Donald Trump.
Kabir from India was elated. Part of it was the $200 he had won in a bet on the election.The other was the candidate who won him the wager.
As we navigated unexpected street closures around Howard University, Kabir said he loved that Trump was for "the little guy” while calling Harris “a phony.
He also said he had more rides and better income during Trump’s first term.
And there was Yaci from Cuba. He said business was vastly better under Trump than Biden.
Yaci also feared Democrats were too sympathetic to that which he had fled.
“Democrats don’t know Socialism. It is evil,” Yaci said.
Abal was from Ethiopia.
Accent so thick he needed to repeat answers several times. One word was clear: gender.
Abal was upset at the public school his children were attending. He didn’t detail the policy, but it appeared to resemble the new California law that allows schools to keep from parents when a child changes pronouns or their gender identity. At one point, he turned to me and frowned.
“Parents know their children better than schools do.They are my children. Not theirs.”
Our last was Dominick, a retired DC Metro bus driver. The Black man and the father offour kids with an endearing cackle said Trump was his guy.
“I had to think of my children. Your kids are your future. Your future. My wife and I don't vote for ourselves, we vote for them”
And that future was better with Trump he said. Besides expressing hope the economy would improve, he felt the Manhattan billionaire appreciated people who work with their hands.
When asked about the Democratic nominee, he just smiled.
Wednesday night, as the sun set on the Harris campaign’s last hurrah, I spoke with some of the crestfallen who had arrived a day earlier filled with hope. None could understand what happened.
As they started searching for the App on their smartphones, I felt like offering some advice for the ride.
Talk to the driver.
