We elect a president every four years, so why does this time feel so different? “I think this time it’s less about a choice between candidates and more about a referendum on the country and the direction we’re going in,” says Vanity Fair executive editor Claire Howorth.
Claire joined politics correspondent Bess Levin on this week’s episode of Inside the Hive to discuss why this particular election is so close and so stressful; some downballot races you should keep an eye on; and how the media, including Fox News, will likely approach election night. The two agreed that “hope is a terrible thing to waste,” while confidence is too terrifying to project. Instead, they discussed some ways to keep calm, or not (see: Claire’s “maximum masochism”), as we await results.
Here you go:
- Remember that no one (including those so-called political insiders) knows anything more about the election’s outcome than the rest of us do. We’re all in this uncertainty together.
- Read everything you can. Frantically refresh the New York Times website, as Claire and Bess will be doing. Follow the Cook Political Report.
- Embrace some humor. (Per Bess: “Somebody said the human body was not made to withstand three Trump elections.”)
- Don’t overinterpret the results next week, because we’re still going to be a bitterly divided country, regardless of who wins.
- Distract, distract, distract! Claire recommends Breath of Fire and Anatomy of Lies, which are Vanity Fair’s new docuseries, out now on HBO’s Max and Peacock, respectively. Bess and Claire also recommend Industry and anything Nicole Kidman is doing.
- Remember that we have a lot in common. This is going to be a really stressful period. People are going to be really upset. We need Donald Trump voters to be part of the reconciliation. We need Kamala Harris voters to be part of the reconciliation. We have to find a way to live together in the months and years to come.
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