America is in a state of conflict as two ideologies collide on election day

America is choosing its own path forward, and the stakes could not be higher.

Both candidates presented bright ideas for the future if they lose this election. Donald Trump says the country will “go to hell” and become “quickly communist” if he loses, while Kamala Harris describes her rival as a “fascist” who wants “unfettered power”.

Voters in key battleground states have been bombarded with campaign ads, many of them designed to incite fear. Given this climate, it’s no wonder Americans surveyed report high levels of anxiety.

“I believe they’re keeping us in fear just to get out the vote,” said Heather Soucek in Wisconsin as election day neared. He lives in a swing state in a swing state, and plans to support Trump because, in his words, Harris’ economic plans are “scary”.

But on the street, I ran into Tracy Andropolis, a registered independent who said she would vote for Harris. “It’s one of the most important elections of my life. There’s a lot on the line,” he said, adding that he worries Trump will refuse to step down if he wins.

Both expressed genuine concern for the future if their candidate loses, reflecting the mood of many voters on the eve of the election.

Ms. Andropolis also told me that she did not believe in neck-and-neck elections. Not because he has real evidence, but because he can’t take into account the millions of people who are planning to vote for Trump. And he is by no means alone in his struggle to accept the approach of this race.

One of the things I’ve learned traveling around the country and talking to voters is that America doesn’t seem remarkably divided, it feels like two different countries coexisting strangely in one place.

Democrats live in cities and suburbs, while Republicans live in rural areas. Americans are increasingly moving to places where their neighbors share their political views. And it’s not hard to identify these places now, given the yard signs and posters that often mark Trump and Harris’ locations.

But it is impossible to live forever in these different political worlds. These two sides are about to clash with the harsh reality of the election.

No matter how it is argued, no matter how it is argued, there must be a winner.

And when some here read the final result and realize that tens of millions of their fellow Americans feel very differently from them, it will shock them.

Both Trump and Harris have planned their own historic and tumultuous approaches to election day.

I was among the press corps that gathered outside the Manhattan courthouse to witness Trump’s criminal money trial in April. He was convicted a few weeks later, becoming the first former or sitting president to be convicted of a crime. Many asked at the time: could a convicted felon really take back the White House?

But his legal troubles and his claim that he was deliberately targeted by the Biden administration fueled his campaign and alienated his supporters. “They’re not chasing me, they’re chasing you,” he used to say.

“They’re arming the criminal justice system against their political enemies, and it’s wrong,” one of his supporters told me outside court. “I will fight for this man until the day I die,” said another.

A familiar pattern emerged: with each case, his poll ratings rose and financial donations poured in.

Just think about the last minute that his mugshot was taken as part of the election tampering case in Georgia. It quickly became an iconic image that now adorns many of the t-shirts I see at Trump rallies.

And it’s impossible to recount the former president’s ride on polling day without a moment that produced another iconic image and almost completely wiped out the race.

When Trump was shot by a would-be assassin in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July, it rocked the race and the nation. As he was being helped by the Secret Service to stand up, blood pouring from his ear, he raised his fist in the air and urged his followers to fight.

When he appeared 48 hours later at his team’s conference in Milwaukee with gauze in his ear, some in the crowd were crying. I saw tears streaming down the face of another messenger standing next to me. It was Tina Ioane, who had traveled from American Samoa.

He said to me: “You are the anointed one.” “He was called to lead our nation.”

At that point in the summer, with the election, Trump looked unassailable.

On the other hand, the Democrats were getting more and more depressed about their prospects. They are very concerned that the candidate, Joe Biden, is too old to win re-election.

I was in the press room watching his scathing debate against Trump in late June. There was a moment of silence as we watched Biden’s 50-year political career end before our eyes.

But even so, many who publicly suggested that he should step down were dismissed. The Biden campaign even attacked the “bad guys” who were telling him to go.

It would be, of course, a matter of time.

Just days after that raucous Republican convention in July, when Trump looked like he could not lose, Biden announced that he was dropping his bid for re-election. The mood among Democratic supporters quickly changed from nervousness to excited anticipation.

Any doubts they had about Kamala Harris being their best member were dispelled at a fun reunion in Chicago a few weeks later. People who had been resigned to defeat were now swept up in a wave of enthusiasm.

This election represents an opportunity to “move past the anger, doubt and divisive wars of the past”, he said loudly.

But this burst of enthusiasm did not last. After an initial bump in the polls, Harris struggled to maintain momentum. It appears that he quickly won back traditional Democrats who did not support Biden but found it difficult to win over key undecided voters.

Harris, however, has repeatedly run that optimistic message. She has also made reproductive rights a cornerstone of her campaign, and hopes the issue will inspire women to come out in droves.

But the challenge, as in all presidential elections, is to convince the undecided.

I met Zoie Cheneau at her hair salon in Atlanta, Georgia, less than two weeks after the election. He said he never lost his enthusiasm to vote.

“It’s the lesser of two evils for me right now,” he said, explaining that he would ultimately vote for Harris but felt Trump would be better for small businesses.

“It will make me happy that a black woman will be the president of the United States,” he said. “And you will win, I know you will.”

While some voters are concerned and believe the race is close, Ms. Cheneau’s certainty about the outcome is something supporters of both parties have repeatedly expressed.

Many Harris fans don’t understand why he hasn’t moved on from a convicted felon who was publicly attacked and ridiculed by those who served in his last administration.

Trump supporters are equally amazed that anyone would vote for a policy candidate who was in the White House at a time when illegal border crossings reached record levels.

The two nations exist in what appears to be a natural political sequence, in a deep partisan divide where opposing views are suppressed and candidates inspire devoted loyalties that transcend traditional party affiliation.

Voters were given apocalyptic warnings about what would happen if the other side won. They were told that this election is much bigger than those sitting in the Oval office for the next four years. Many believe that it is an existential phenomenon that can have catastrophic consequences.

There is no doubt that the prominence of this campaign has raised the level, raised anxiety and tension, which means that the results of this election may explode. We expect legal challenges and street protests will not surprise anyone.

This is a nation divided between opposing views of what is at stake. But it is at the polling stations where Red and Blue America will be counted.

Whatever the outcome, one half of the country is about to find out that the other half has a completely different idea of ​​what America needs.

For losers, this will be a painful realization.