America braced as two stark visions collide on election day

America is choosing its way forward, and the stakes could not beryllium higher.

Both candidates person presented stark visions for the aboriginal if they suffer this election. Donald Trump says the state volition "go to hell" and go "communist immediately" if helium loses, portion Kamala Harris describes her hostile arsenic a "fascist" who wants "unchecked power".

Voters successful the cardinal battleground states person been bombarded by run ads, overmuch of it designed to induce fear. Given this climate, it is nary wonderment surveyed Americans are reporting precocious levels of anxiety.

"I bash judge they're making america unrecorded successful fearfulness conscionable to get our vote," Heather Soucek told maine successful Wisconsin arsenic predetermination time loomed. She lives successful a plaything region successful a plaything state, and plans to backmost Trump because, successful her words, Harris's economical plans are "scary".

But conscionable on the street, I besides met Tracy Andropolis, a registered autarkic who said she would ballot for Harris. "It's 1 of the astir important elections successful my lifetime. There's a batch connected the line," she said, adding that she was acrophobic Trump would garbage to springiness up powerfulness if helium won.

Both expressed genuine fears for the aboriginal if their campaigner lost, reflecting the existential temper of galore voters connected the eve of the election.

Ms Andropolis besides told maine she did not judge the neck-and-neck polls. Not due to the fact that she has immoderate existent evidence, but due to the fact that she cannot envisage millions of radical readying to ballot for Trump. And she is by nary means unsocial successful her struggles to judge the closeness of this race.

One of the things I've learned travelling astir this state and talking to voters is that America doesn't conscionable look remarkably divided, it feels arsenic though 2 abstracted nations are awkwardly cohabiting connected the aforesaid onshore mass.

Democrats chiefly unrecorded successful the cities and suburbs, with Republicans mostly surviving successful agrarian areas. Americans are progressively moving to places wherever their neighbours stock their governmental outlook. And it’s not hard to place these areas astatine the moment, fixed the gait signs and placards that truthful often people retired Trump and Harris territory.

But it is not imaginable to unrecorded successful these abstracted governmental worlds forever. These 2 sides are astir to collide with the harsh world of an election.

However disputed, nevertheless contested, determination has to beryllium a winner.

And erstwhile immoderate present larn the eventual effect and realise that tens of millions of their chap Americans consciousness precise otherwise to them, it volition beryllium a shock.

Both Trump and Harris person charted their ain historical and tumultuous paths to polling day.

I was among the property battalion gathered extracurricular a Manhattan tribunal to witnesser Trump's arraignment successful his transgression hush-money proceedings successful April. He was recovered blameworthy weeks later, becoming the archetypal erstwhile oregon sitting president to beryllium convicted of a crime. Many asked astatine the time: could a convicted felon truly reclaim the White House?

But his ineligible troubles and his assertion that helium was being deliberately targeted by the Biden medication lone fuelled his run and fired up his supporters. "They're not aft me, they're aft you," helium would truthful often say.

"They're weaponising the transgression justness strategy against their governmental enemies, and it's not right," 1 of his supporters told maine extracurricular the courthouse. "I volition combat for this antheral until the time I die," different said.

A acquainted signifier emerged: with each indictment, his canvass ratings climbed and fiscal donations poured in.

Just deliberation backmost to the infinitesimal past twelvemonth erstwhile his mugshot was taken arsenic portion of the predetermination interference lawsuit successful Georgia. It rapidly became an iconic representation that present adorns galore of the T-shirts I spot astatine Trump rallies.

And it is intolerable to recount the erstwhile president's chaotic thrust to polling time without the infinitesimal that produced different iconic representation and astir ended the contention altogether.

When Trump was changeable by a would-be assassin successful Butler, Pennsylvania, successful July, it shook this contention and this federation profoundly. As helium was helped to his feet by Secret Service agents, humor pouring from his ear, helium raised his fist successful the aerial and urged his supporters to fight.

When helium appeared conscionable 48 hours aboriginal astatine his party's normal successful Milwaukee with gauze implicit his ear, immoderate successful the assemblage were weeping. I could spot tears rolling down the look of 1 delegate lasting adjacent to me. It was Tina Ioane, who'd travelled from American Samoa.

"He is the anointed," she told me. "He was called to pb our nation."

At that signifier successful the summer, electorally, Trump looked unassailable.

On the different side, Democrats were becoming progressively depressed astir their ain prospects. Deeply anxious that their candidate, Joe Biden, was excessively aged to triumph re-election.

I was successful the property country watching his shambolic statement against Trump successful precocious June. There was stunned soundlessness arsenic we watched Biden's 50-year vocation successful authorities fundamentally travel to an extremity successful beforehand of our eyes.

But adjacent then, galore who publically suggested helium should measurement speech were dismissed. The Biden run adjacent deed retired astatine the "bedwetting brigade" who were calling for him to go.

It would, of course, beryllium a substance of time.

Just days aft that jubilant Republican normal successful July, erstwhile Trump looked similar helium could not lose, Biden announced helium was giving up his re-election bid. The temper among Democratic supporters soon swung from anxious pessimism to excited anticipation.

Any reservations they had astir whether Kamala Harris was their champion campaigner were erased astatine a joyful normal successful Chicago a fewer weeks later. People who had been resigned to decision were present swept distant connected a tide of enthusiasm.

This predetermination represented a accidental to "move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past", she said to large cheers.

But this burst of excitement did not last. After an archetypal bump successful the polls, Harris struggled to support the momentum. It appears she rapidly won backmost accepted Democrats who were not backing Biden but recovered it harder to triumph implicit important undecided voters.

Harris, however, has repeatedly pushed that much optimistic message. She has besides made reproductive rights a cornerstone of her campaign, and is hoping the contented volition motivate women to crook retired successful precocious numbers.

But the challenge, arsenic successful each statesmanlike elections, is to person the undecided.

I met Zoie Cheneau astatine a hairsbreadth salon she owns successful Atlanta, Georgia, little than 2 weeks retired from the election. She said she had ne'er been truthful unmotivated to vote.

"It's the lesser of 2 evils for maine close now," she said, explaining that she would yet formed her ballot for Harris but felt Trump whitethorn beryllium amended for tiny businesses.

"I volition beryllium excited that a achromatic pistillate would beryllium the president of the United States," she said. "And she volition win, I cognize she volition win."

While immoderate voters are anxious and judge this contention to beryllium close, Ms Cheneau's certainty astir the eventual effect is thing supporters connected some sides repeatedly express.

Many Harris supporters simply cannot recognize wherefore she is not further up of a convicted transgression who has been publically attacked and derided by those who served successful his past administration.

Trump supporters are arsenic aghast that anyone could ballot for a campaigner who has flip-flopped connected argumentation and has been successful the White House astatine a clip erstwhile amerciable borderline crossings reached grounds levels.

These 2 tribes beryllium successful what look to beryllium parallel governmental ecosystems, crossed a heavy partisan disagreement wherever opposing views are dismissed and the candidates animate a devoted loyalty that goes beyond mean enactment affiliation.

Voters person been fixed apocalpyptic warnings astir what mightiness hap if the different broadside wins. They've been told this predetermination is astir acold much than who sits successful the Oval Office for the adjacent 4 years. Many judge it is an existential lawsuit that could person disastrous consequences.

There is nary uncertainty the code of this run has raised the stakes, ratcheting up anxiousness and tension, meaning the aftermath of this predetermination could beryllium explosive. We are expecting ineligible challenges and thoroughfare protests would beryllium a astonishment to nary one.

This is simply a federation divided betwixt opposing visions of what's astatine stake. But it is successful the polling stations that Red and Blue America volition conscionable and beryllium counted.

Whatever the result, astir 1 fractional of the state is astir to observe that the different fractional has a wholly antithetic consciousness of what America requires.

For the losers, this volition beryllium a stinging realisation.