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At a pub in central Athens, far from the lights of Washington but with their hearts turned to the other side of the Atlantic, a group of about twenty American citizens and Greek-Americans had every reason to raise their glasses high. And they did. Kristin started with a prosecco, and the other members of Democrats Abroad Greece followed with beers, as foreign networks on the TV screens confirmed again and again that a “blue wave” had swept across the US. “Today we celebrate,” Kristin says, laughing. “It doesn’t matter that it’s only noon, we’ll make an exception.”

Kristin has lived in Greece for many years, but she remains closely connected to US politics, voting without fail through Democrats Abroad. Looking back at the 2016 election, when she was living in Santa Barbara, California, she describes the disappointment and the “underlying current of racism” she felt around her, as well as the fear of a possible Trump victory.

That was when she traveled to Korea to teach, an experience she tells “To Vima” left a mark on her. “I was staying at a temple and talked for two hours with a monk. He told me that Trump is America’s ‘karma,’ that because of their greed, Americans created the opportunity for him to come to power. He said it would get so bad that you would think America had turned to dust and would lose its reputation. But after that, America would learn, good karma would come, and it would become the most peaceful place on Earth.”

Looking at the midterm results, Kristin believes this “good karma” is starting to show. “I think this is a first step, because the results are clear, especially in the House. Trump’s biggest mistake is the people around him, who encourage him with a racist tone. Also, the Republicans’ attacks on the religion of political opponents are backfiring. If you are Buddhist, Hindu or anything else, that’s your private business. No campaign should be allowed to target someone’s religion.”

“Now Everything Will Change”

Nikki Fellouris, representative of Democrats Abroad in Athens

For the members of Democrats Abroad Greece, waiting for the results had turned into a pleasant surprise, accompanied by beer and food. As Niki Fellouri, spokesperson for the American Democrats in Athens, points out, the memory of 2016 and Donald Trump’s first election seems distant compared with the new political landscape, especially after the midterm results. “Because the polls had been wrong in previous elections, we kept our expectations low,” she says, stressing that the large-scale mobilization through the Get Out the Vote campaign and mail-in voting played a decisive role.

Americans always vote with their wallets, Niki Fellouri believes. “Trump lied, saying the economy wasn’t doing well under Biden… And not only did the economy not improve, it got worse. And I think that’s the most important reason people stopped supporting him. They saw it in higher gas prices and in prices in general. So they voted with their wallets more than on immigration, foreign relations or the war in Iran, which they also blame him for starting, leading to fuel inflation.”

Explaining the background of the gathering in central Athens, she describes with a touch of humor the choice to meet for brunch instead of an election night party. “We decided to meet today because we thought we wouldn’t have the results yet, so we didn’t hold an election watch party last night. The last time we got together, it didn’t go well… But now everything will change. Having won the House and the Senate, there will finally be some opposition. We wanted at least the House; we weren’t sure about the Senate. But it seems people were so fed up that we got everything we could.”

“Many Republicans who are disappointed with their party simply didn’t bother to go vote,” Niki Fellouri says, shortly before greeting a friend. “Those who wanted a change went out and voted. The people who supported him just thought it would be fine and didn’t bother to vote. All Democrats were motivated to bring the party to power in at least one of the chambers as a safeguard.”

“We Are Not Willing to Be Taken for Fools”

John Brady Kiesling, former diplomat of the US in Greece

The conversation at the Athens pub quickly turned to the reasons behind this political shift, with the “blue wave” flooding even traditional “red” strongholds such as Texas.

John Brady Kiesling, a former US diplomat in Athens, combined his birthday with the election results, calling them the best gift. “Waking up on my birthday to a result like this, with congratulations coming in from friends all over the world… The whole planet is relieved by what happened,” he says with a smile.

As a registered voter in Texas, Kiesling did not hide his satisfaction with the dramatic shift in his state, arguing that “Trump had put forward an obviously unsuitable guy for the Senate, and for Texans, that just wasn’t acceptable. We had an excellent candidate, Talarico… In addition, that clumsy attempt at redistricting took the votes of the Latino population for granted, and they turned against the Republicans.”

Analyzing the deeper causes of voter behavior, the former diplomat focuses on the reaction of young people and the arrogance of power. “It seems that the people who needed to turn out did, mainly young people, who saw how things worked and turned out to vote in huge numbers,” he notes. “Trump essentially sent the message that he thinks the American people are stupid. And yes, some are, but most are not. Young people looked around and said, ‘No, we are not willing to be taken for fools.’ We are not stupid.”

Despite the Democrats’ stunning results in the midterms, John Brady Kiesling believes the US is at the start of a difficult road. “It’s only the first step. We now have some ability to limit the damage, but Trump left us with an empty treasury, huge debts, and absolute chaos in the Middle East and in global trade. These can’t be cleaned up until he leaves. Still, we can at least prepare the ground to move very quickly once he is gone.”