Guinness, guns and cowboys: Edinburgh’s take on Election Night

Seeking out political debate, insight into the Edinburgh student psyche, and of course some line dancing, The Tab team took to Dropkick Murphy’s for the famous Irish bar’s US election special.

An atmosphere of nervous excitement greeted us at the door, trepidation and anxiety thrown back with a shot of baby Guinness. Here’s what we found from talking to the cowboy hat wielding political experts of the night.

Excitement and panic 

The Irish bar was packed with Americans (and their non-American friends) who had come out to watch history happen in real time.

Although the line dancing and live music brought an Irish-American charm only Dropkicks could bring to Cowgate, it felt slightly dystopian when paired with the live broadcasting of election results on TV screens around the pub. During a rendition of Fake ID, US coverage drew up images of President-elect Trump’s assassination attempt – a bit of a mood killer if I’m honest.

Indeed, the entire evening should have been a miserably tense event as Americans cast their votes for two extremely different presidential candidates. The ideological divide in the US has grown exponentially in recent years, causing Democrats and Republicans to consider the idea of the other side winning as an existential threat, something to be feared.

However, the drinks, music and overall vibes offered by Dropkicks on the evening of the 5th of November helped party-goers to reclaim agency over these anxieties. A student from California told us that Dropkicks was “the best place to be because no matter the results we’re still going to have a good time.”

There appeared to be a collective declaration that if you could no longer do anything about the election results, you could at least get absolutely wasted, attempting to celebrate joy instead of fear.

Who was supporting who?

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Contrary to the result on the night, the vast majority of Americans we spoke to were firmly on the blue side of the ideological split, with students donning sparkly cowboy outfits and American flag face paint in support of Harris. By the end of the night however, MAGA hats were spotted in the smoking area “debating” with their fellow smokers.

Most Scottish and English students we interviewed supported Harris, mimicking nation wide pro-democrat sentiment. A YouGov poll taken at the end of October found that 64 per cent of Britons favoured a Harris win, in comparison to 18 per cent preferring Trump (the remaining 18% were undecided).

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Concerns further afield

Beyond economics, one of the most significant effects of Trump’s victory is the apparent normalisation of sexual violence and corruption in society. Trump has become the first convicted felon to take the role of President of the United States, being charged with 34 felonies as well as being subject to investigation over a number of other high profile cases including his involvement in the January 6th insurrection.

Our election night coverage illustrated that many Edinburgh students will be frustrated by the results.

As America begins preparations for the transfer of power on the 20th of January 2025, the future seems uncertain, and while Edinburgh danced the night away, the world woke up to not only a hangover, but a new(ish) era in global politics.