On the island of Palm Beach, reactions to Biden win range from gloom to elation – Palm Beach Daily News

Darrell Hofheinz and Shannon Donnelly| Palm Beach Daily News

Now their neighbor might be coming home to stay.

And just like any neighborhood, opinions about the big news in Palm Beach that PresidentDonald Trump would be leaving the White House after one term following his defeat by former Vice President Joe Biden varied Saturday from somber to joyful.

"I'm disappointed," said John Scarpa, a longtime friend of President Trump. "As an American, I'm worried aboutour future."

Palm Beacher Blair Brandt, a political strategist and Republican fundraiser who helped lead money-gatheringefforts for the president in the SunshineState, said Trump had won an impressive victory in the state of Florida during Tuesdays election.

But he declined further comment due to the legal challenges the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee are waging in multiple states.

Biden, a longtime Delaware senator who served two terms as vice president under President Barack Obama, secured enough electoral votes Saturday to claim the presidencyafter winning the state count in Pennsylvania. Joining him as vice president will be California Sen. Kamala Harris, who made history as the first Black woman and the first person of South Asian descent to be elected to the second-highest office in the land.

The news of Biden's victory left Kevin Byrne "absolutely elated."

"I have regained my faith in my fellow citizens," he said. "It's like waking up from a nightmare, especially this past week."

Democrat Leta Austin Foster, a Palm Beach interior designer and retailer, alsowas relieved and happy to hear the race being called or Biden, though she sounded a note of caution.

But I know its not all over yet, she said, referring to Trumps ongoing efforts to challenge the election results. Unfortunately, that just makes people doubt the legitimacy of the vote. Im not surprised at that. I wish I were, but Im not.

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She added: What Im really sad about is that (the last four years) exposed how many people in this country are really racist and thats so sad. But hopefully, things will get better.

The presidential election exposed deep divisions in American society, with one side certain that a second Trump presidency would usher in a right-wing autocracy, and the other just as convinced that a Biden presidency would mean a triumph for socialism. Voters turned out in record numbers: About 161 million people voted, with Biden on track Saturday afternoonto win the popular vote by more than 4 million ballots.

Another key concern for residentssuch as Bruce Langmaid was a possible change in fiscal policy. Trump, whose secretary of commerce is fellow Palm Beacher Wilbur Ross, signed a tax cut into law in 2017 that was widely seen as beneficial to the nation's wealthiest citizens.

Langmaid said hefears a Biden Administration will increase his tax burden.

"I'm worriedabout my income taxes going up," he said. "And I wonder what this means for property values in Palm Beach."

>> RELATED: Trump has raised the town's profile

Jeff Alderton was unhappy about Saturday's development, and suggested that election anomalies were responsible.

"This has been a very difficult election process for me. It was a national election, which should have national standards ... not state-run standards, which may have interfered with the voting count, hence the outcome," he said.

But Alderton also said what mattered going forward was how the new president would work with the Senate, and "most importantly how we as Americans will be heardand react in a level-headed and respectful way."

Hanging over the election was the coronavirus pandemic, now into its eighth month and resurging strongly across the United States, where more than 236,000 people have died of the contagion and nearly 10 million people have been infected.

Former Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jeff Greene, an island resident, said he is confident that Biden is better equipped than Trump to effectively tackle the demands of the coronavirus crisis.

I have been so disappointed by this administrations response to the pandemic, Greene said. Im thrilled that we have an adult in Vice President Biden who will finally address this issue.

Greene hasnt agreed with many of Trumps decisions and policies including his support of automatic assault rifles, which Greene described as weapons of mass destruction," andthe presidents appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Palm Beach Democrat Bram Majtlis said hebelieves Biden and Harris will work to protect the rights of LGBTQ people, including the legality of same-sex marriages. He and his husband, Nick Gold, were together more than 30 years before they got married a year ago.

The LGBTQ community will be in good hands with this new ticket, Majtlis said.

Democrats, he added, must work to bridge the divides that characterized the contentious election. Bidens maturity and his reputation as a centrist, Majtlis said, will help that effort.

We should reach out our hand to make one America," Majtlis said. "I think we need to be civil, and civility has been lacking over the last four years.

Nancy Brinker, a lifelong Republican and former U.S. ambassador to Hungary, also expressed hope for conciliation.

"Whether youre a Republican, Democratic or independent, we can all take a strong measure of gratification and pride from the record turnout and participation that we have witnessed in our democratic process," she said. "I am especially heartened by the record number of women who were elected to office and the message that sends to young girls across the country."

Brinker, who also served as chief of protocol at the State Department, said the world looks to America for leadership, and that means the different sides must work together.

"It is my hope that our elected leaders in Washington, regardless of party, understand that collaboration in the name of freedom and progress is no vice. There is far more that unites our great nation than divides us, she said.

Foster, the Democratic interior decorator, made national news when she was the sole person to show up in June for what she thought would be a Palm Beach protest against the death of George Floyd, the Black man who died while being detained by police in Minneapolis.

She said she is hoping Biden can help heal divisions in the country. Hes always been an across-the-aisle man, she said.

Perhaps the last word belongs to Bill Bone, who took a uniquely Palm Beach view.

"I'm glad the election has been called so I can stop talking about this and start loving my neighbors again," he said."I will never again get upset when it seems like all we worry about is parking, leaf blowers, beach sand, and the size of the second story on the new house down the street."

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Staff writer Greg Stepanich contributed to this report.

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On the island of Palm Beach, reactions to Biden win range from gloom to elation - Palm Beach Daily News