As the world keenly awaits the results of the US election, the hatred among immigrants for Donald Trump is almost at its zenith and the message is loud and clear: the immigrant population is voting against the Republican candidate across the West and East coasts (minus middle America, which is largely white).
According to a report released by the US Centre for Immigration Studies last week, the foreign-born population stood at 43.3 million in 2015. The think tank, which used the Census Bureau's data for preparing the report, stated that over three million foreigners moved to the country in 2014 and 2015.
"Bernie Sanders would have been our ideal choice, but since we have to choose between Clinton and Trump, we will go with Hillary despite her hawkish attitude towards Iran. Trump is a no choice for us; he is trying to put whites as one united force against the rest of America, which is foolish," Babak Hashemizadeh of Iranian origin, who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, told IANS.
"Damn. She really is voting for McMullin." pic.twitter.com/kfwh1eHhVB
— Nicholas Thompson (@nxthompson) November 8, 2016
According to Andrews, who works for an elite cab service in San Francisco, these are testing times for the country.
"I have never seen such hatred against non-whites -- people who are hard workers and have generated revenues and brought respect for this country. America is an immigrant nation and this is its core identity. This election will decide the fate of our country. God save America if Trump comes to power," Andrews, who gave only one name, told IANS.
Layla who works at the swanky Bix restaurant here -- famous for its American-French cuisine -- did not wish to talk politics. "But I am worried about the future of this country. God knows what may come to us post-November 8 (if Trump wins)," Layla told IANS.
When it comes to Indian Americans, the diaspora now comprises about four million people, representing around 1.25 per cent of the US population (as of 2015).
"Hillary has been a true friend of India for long. The Trump politics of alienating the immigrant population from the Whites will not work in today's scenario when we people contribute so much to this country, both economically and socially. His way is certainly not the right way to make America great again," Pankaj Gupta, who works for a multinational tech company here, told IANS.
The anti-Trump wave among Hispanics, Latinos, African-Americans and South Asians, among other influential immigrant groups, is clearly visible on the ground.
"I am a firm believer in Americans making the right choice. The unpleasant and boorish Trump does not deserve to be in the driver's seat and I believe people will ensure this on November 8," Andrews added.
Let us live for another day to see if the anti-Trump wave gets strong enough to push Hillary to the top post.
AMERICANS TURN OUT IN LARGE NUMBERS TO VOTE FOR PRESIDENT AFTER DIVISIVE, NASTY CAMPAIGN
Americans went to the polls in large numbers on Tuesday after a bitter, divisive presidential campaign that reached its peak Monday night at a star-studded rally for Democrat Hillary Clinton and at a theatrical assembly for Republican Donald Trump.
Clinton running to be the first woman president on a platform of "Stronger Together" was ahead in opinion polls by an average of 3.3 percent, a slim lead over Trump, whose message was "Make America Great Again".
Initial news reports indicated that this election may see a high voter turnout. News programmes across the country showed long lines of voters as polling began.
Around 90 million voters are expected to cast their votes to elect the country's 45th president.
Voters are also to cast ballots for vice president, their representatives in Congress and Senate and other elected officials. Also on ballots are various proposals, called propositions, for legal changes in several states
East Coast states have already kicked off with voting on in Florida, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Tennessee.
The three sleepy hamlets in rural New Hampshire, with their residents fewer than 100, became the first to cast their ballots.
In Dixville Notch, Clinton beat Donald Trump 4-2. Libertarian Gary Johnson received one vote, and the 2012 Republican candidate, Mitt Romney received a surprise write-in ballot.
In the slightly larger burg of Hart's Location, Clinton won with 17 votes to Trump's 14. In Millsfield, Trump won decisively, 16-4.
Polls in most areas open at either 6 a.m. or 7 a.m., while poll closing times range from 6 p.m. to as late as 9 p.m. local time.
Clinton and husband and former President Bill Clinton turned up at their local voting booth in Chappaqua, New York, to vote. Voters cheered as the duo arrived, but Hillary didn't speak to media, though she waved.
Many people crowded around her with cellphones taking photos.
In Florida, the biggest swing state in the country, 50 per cent of the state's 13 million voters have cast their vote.
The election is also a national referendum on the establishment as the media, cultural and entertainment elite along with most of Wall Street and business elite and even some traditional Republicans are supporting Clinton. Votes for Trump would be seen as rebuffs of the establishment, as he is running as an outsider with an unconventional and raucous campaign not seen in modern times.
The campaigns, till the end, centered on vicious personal attacks, with policy matters falling by the wayside. "Hillary Clinton is the most corrupt person ever to seek the office of president of the United States," was Trump's closing message.
Clinton hit back at Trump, widely denounced as divisive, telling a rally early Tuesday in Raleigh, North Carolina, "It is a choice between division and unity."
Clinton's Monday night meeting in Philadelphia rallied political and entertainment star power behind her. President Barack Obama, accompanied by his wife Michelle, told the gathering estimated at 30,000: "I am betting that tomorrow you will reject fear and you'll choose hope."
Defending her against the constant stream of attacks by Trump, who refers to her as "Crooked Hillary," Obama said: "I have had to bite my tongue about a lot of the nonsense people say about Hillary in this election."
Singers Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen entertained the crowd with music and appealed to them to support Clinton.
Trump's rally in Manchester was a theatrical performance with laser light display, but no stars. Instead he announced the backing he said he received from two sports figures in the region.
At the rally he returned to a familiar theme that the election was stacked against him, saying, "She's being protected by a totally rigged system."
Later early Tuesday morning both candidates held rallies to round off the campaign, Clinton in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Trump in Grand Rapids, Michigan. While Clinton's meeting featured singers Bon Jovi and Lady Gaga, Trump's was a low-key event
Despite her lead, Clinton lacked outright majority in an election that has four candidates running nationally. According to RealClear Politics, which tallies different polls, she was ahead in polls with 45.5 percent, while Trump had 42.2 percent.
The conservative Libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson drew 4.7 percent - some of it away from traditional Republican supporters. The liberal Green Party candidate Jill Stein had the support of 1.9 percent in the polls.
Elections are controlled by state election bodies and rules and methods vary. Some states allow early voting, either in person or by post, and in some of them a large number of citizens have already voted. In North Carolina, for example, about a third of the electorate had voted before Tuesday.
Some states still use paper ballots, while others use different types of electronic machines
CANADIANS SET TO WATCH THE SEASON FINALE OF THE US ELECTION REALITY SHOW
TORONTO — It's election day in the United States but across Canada, many people will be gathering for the season finale of the ultimate political reality TV show: the U.S. presidential election.
From coast to coast to coast, Canadians and Americans in Canada will be glued to television sets and computers watching the results.
Many pubs in big cities are hosting special events, with scenes expected to resemble a Game 7 of a World Series or Stanley Cup playoff.
Outdoor events are planned in other places, such as Halifax and Sydney, N.S.
With politics going up against the puck drop, one Montreal pub will screen hockey on the main floor and host an election-viewing party upstairs.
What seems clear is that whoever wins, some will be cheering and others will be left crying in their beer.
No matter who wins, said Maria Rajanayagam with the American Chamber of Commerce in Vancouver, the vote is worth celebrating as history in the making.
"This is such a momentous occasion of either having the first woman president elected or having a very independent person elected," said Rajanayagam, who will be joining a few hundred Canadians and Americans at a downtown hotel to watch.
"It's the most talked about election for a very long time and it's one that definitely needed to be celebrated, so here we are."
Outside Churchill, Man., Jim Halfpenny will be taking in the results via computer at the Churchill Northern Studies centre, where there is no TV, and where he is shepherding a group of Americans on a study course on polar bears and the environment.
"If something starts and the conversation starts to get heavy, I say, 'No, this is a neutral trip, we don't go into that stuff.' I try to keep it neutral, especially this year. It's hot," Halfpenny said. "I'm scared about the outcome and more scared than I've been for the last six elections. I'm going to be chewing my nails and watching."
What promises to be a more sedate — if no less intense — affair is a semi-closed event at an east-end Toronto venue hosted by the U.S. Consulate itself, where Consulate General Juan Alsace and a handful of officials will be watching along with guests, who will have to pass security screening to get in.
"This is less of a 'drink and yell at the big screen viewing' party and more a 'sit down and watch' with a politics-loving crowd," the consulate says.
WOMEN IN CANADIAN POLITICS LOOK AHEAD TO POSSIBLE FEMALE U.S. PRESIDENT
OTTAWA — Canada's only female prime minister says a victory by Hillary Clinton in today's U.S. election would send a signal around the world that women really are ready to lead.
Kim Campbell, who lasted just over four months as prime minister in 1993, predicts a Clinton win would change perceptions about the capacity of women to do the job.
She says it would also encourage a lot of young girls to aim for the sky.
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne says a Clinton victory would break a "huge glass ceiling" and have implications for young women all over the world.
Wynne says she hears from young women and their parents about how important it is for them that a woman is in the role of premier of Ontario, a feeling she predicts would be magnified if a woman was in the White House.
Mobina Jaffer, the first Muslim to be named to Canada's Senate, says she found a similar effect when she was appointed to the upper house in 2001.
She says her appointment inspired a young Afghan girl to think she could be come prime minister one day.
That response taught Jaffer that people can see what's possible when they see someone like themselves in a job.
New Democrat MP Sheila Malcolmson says Clinton's success would be especially critical for women given what she calls the misogynist attitudes of her Republican rival, Donald Trump.
Trump has been accused of sexual assault by multiple women and was caught on tape boasting about groping women without their consent. He has also made demeaning comments about the physical appearance of some women.
However, Georganne Burke, a dual Canada-U.S. citizen and former Conservative staffer, says it's insulting to expect a woman to vote for Clinton just because she's female.
Burke has cast a mail-in ballot for Trump because she shares his beliefs and likes his plan for the United States.
Based on how Trump interacts with the women in his own family, Burke says she does not believe he deserves his reputation.
Speaking at an Ottawa elementary school today, Wynne said there is an important need to identify and talk about misogyny, racism and sexism with young people to make sure the subjects aren't taboo, "so that young people learn how to recognize those behaviours, those behaviours in themselves and those behaviours in the people around them.
"Even though sometimes it feels like we go one step forward and two steps back, my hope is always that we are moving forward ... in a way that takes us to a more inclusive, more accepting society," Wynne says.
CANADA'S U.S. FIXATION REACHES NEW HEIGHTS AS AMERICANS HEAD TO THE POLLS
OTTAWA — Americans are finally heading to the polls today — and Canada has a front-row seat.
Even those north of the border with only a passing interest in politics will be watching the final instalment of a jaw-dropping election campaign unmatched in modern American history.
The first wave of polls close at 7 p.m. ET, including Georgia and Virginia, with results from the key states of North Carolina and Ohio after 7:30 p.m.
At 8 p.m., Florida and Pennsylvania — must-wins for Trump — will be among more than a dozen states reporting results, with Arizona, Wisconsin and Michigan among several more closing at 9 p.m.
A winner likely won't emerge until after 11 p.m. ET.
If Clinton can win either Florida or Pennsylvania, she's almost unstoppable. Trump likely needs Florida, along with Ohio, North Carolina, Arizona, and either Michigan or Pennsylvania. Neither of the latter two have voted Republican in decades.
Canada, of course, is far from a disinterested observer.
"Living next to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant," the father of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Americans at Washington's National Press Club in March 1969.
"No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, if I can call it that, one is affected by every twitch and grunt."
Friendly and even-tempered is not how anyone would describe the 2016 presidential race between Trump, the oh-so-improbable Republican nominee, and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
This thrashing nightmare of an election year has long since alarmed Mexico, Canada's other partner in the North American free trade bed and a primary target for Trump's sharp anti-trade, anti-immigration elbows.
But unlike Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who has made no secret of his concern about a Trump presidency, Justin Trudeau remains above the fray.
"Any responsible government is looking at what various consequences could be for Canadians, for the Canadian economy, of various measures or various policy positions that the potential next president of the United States — our largest trading partner — might take. That's simply responsible," Trudeau said late last week while waving off a question about Tuesday's outcome.
"I'm going to have faith in the American political process and reassure Canadians that I will work with whomever gets elected to continue to defend Canada's interests and grow our economy."
Even so, the stakes are high, said Perrin Beatty, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
"I would like us to be in a position where the discussion is going to be (about) how rapidly and how imaginatively can we deepen our partnership. Instead, what I think what we'll be looking at is, how do we maintain the progress we've been making?"
And it's not just about whether Clinton or Trump prevails to win the White House.
Tuesday's voting also will determine the composition of the Republican-dominated House of Representatives and of the Senate, which could conceivably see a majority of Democratic senators elected.
