US Midterm Celebrations in Philadelphia - Baibre Holmes Reports

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The Hard Shoulder with Ciara Kelly and Shane Colman. On Newstalk with Ciara.

Shane Colman (1:09)

Now we are crossing to back to the States where our reporter, Baibre Holmes, is in Philadelphia. As you have been, you've been in Pennsylvania all week. We just wanted to get, I suppose, a feel for the day after that extraordinary night of counting and what the mood is like on the ground there. Baibre, what is the mood? And you're in Philadelphia at the moment.

Baibre Holmes (1:32)

I am in Philadelphia and it is a democratic city. So you might imagine that there's a real palpable sense of excitement and relief.

And when I left the hotel this morning, the staff were all laughing and joking about the result. I passed people in the street. They're all talking about it. And it really reminds me of living in London the day after Brexit, where people would actually sort of talk to each other on the tube. And this sense that everyone around you is talking about this one big thing that's happened.

Shane Colman (2:00)

So the morning papers, the morning TV shows, what's the kind of message? What are the headlines?

Baibre Holmes (2:05)

Well, I tried to get a copy of The Philadelphia Inquirer to read the headlines and tried lots of shops and newsstands, but nowhere seems to sell papers anymore, which is a bit of an indication.

Shane Colman (2:14)

I can't tell you how sad that makes me feel, Baibre. I have to say.

Baibre Holmes (2:17)

A bit of an indication of news consumption in the US at the moment. But I have been watching the TV channels. And there is a sense of surprise, even among the pundits, because it was forecast the Democrats would do well. But this has just gone far beyond what everyone was expecting. And I think things like Kansas voting in a Democratic Senator for the first time in almost a century, Texas returning a Democratic Senator and the government. There was a sense that one or two of these things might happen. There might be one or two novel results. But there's just been so many stoning victories in so many states. It's that scale that has really surprised people.

Shane Colman (2:52)

Okay, you went back to your student days. You were at a watch party in Drexel University.

Baibre Holmes (2:58)

I was indeed. And, you know, people were sort of like, Democratic supporters had been speaking to, were cautiously optimistic. And I went to this watch party. Students tend to be pretty hopeful and optimistic and also quite left leaning. But even then, there was just sort of gasp after gasp and cheers as all these results started to pour in and they sort of had laptops up and screens up and they were looking at the data coming in from different counties in their home states. They came from all across the country.

I was talking to one young man and he was quite literally speechless as he looked at the Latino vote in Texas and he was trying to articulate it to me, but he couldn't put a sentence together. He was so shocked about how dramatic the shift there was.

Shane Colman (3:38)

Okay. Was there one particular issue that's cut across party lines when you were out and about chatting to both Democrats and Republicans?

Baibre Holmes (3:48)

I don't think it will shock anyone here. The cost of living, but as they call it, pocketbook issues here. It came up again and again and again when I was speaking to people, the price of fuel, food, everyday essentials and the blame, a lot of it being laid at Trump's feet for his war in Iran for increasing costs.