In Brussels, American expats and people from around Europe are eagerly waiting for news on the US elections. The US embassy is meanwhile busy reassuring Europe that all will be well, regardless of who wins.
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Brian Dunhill's day job is as a financial counselor, an advisor with Cross Border Planning, a wealth management company. But Dunhill's been pulling double-duty as a cross-cultural counselor outside the office lately - as president of the American Club of Brussels.
Dunhill is spending a lot of time trying to help Europeans understand the dynamics of Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton, something that's difficult for anyone to track. "They're just looking for answers at this point on how we got here," Dunhill told DW, recalling Mark Twain's quote that the difference between fact and fiction is that fiction has to be believable. In the U.S. presidential race this year, he marveled, "there have been so many twists and turns that if this were a Hollywood movie, you wouldn't believe it."
Dunhill will be front and center Tuesday night, helping organize the biggest election-night event in Brussels, where more than a thousand people will assemble at the Marriott Hotel on the Grand Place to basically wait out what appears to the closest election since - well, since that whole "hanging chad" affair in 2000.
Two-party party
The gala co-hosted by the American Club and The Bulletin, an expat news and cultural website, will feature a VIP dinner including intellectual discussion about what the election outcome will mean for NATO and European Union relations with a new administration. There will be a debate between representatives of Republicans Overseas, whose membership numbers in Europe are unclear - possibly only one or two in Brussels- and Democrats Abroad. Though there are more than 11,000 Americans registered as residents of Belgium, most of those who'll gather to watch the results are expected to be from other countries.
Dunhill quips that Americans are the only people in town now who don't want to talk about the election. But he says the Europeans are taking the race incredibly seriously, traumatized by Trump's non-transatlanticist views, but also looking in the mirror. "It's all the same issues that every single developed nation here in Europe is going through," Dunhill pointed out. "So it's not so far-fetched that it could be a precursor to what we could see with the French election and German election and what we already saw in Poland and in England."
Brussels fears Brexit-like surprise
Dunhill's co-organizer Sarah Crew, an editor with The Bulletin, says she's not surprised by the massive interest. "Brussels is a political city," she said, noting that even in previous years the turnout for this event has been overwhelming. Registration was cut off at 1,000 tickets, which sold out quickly online, and no one will be able to buy a ticket at the door this year. The specter of terror attacks has added a layer of logistical concern, with attendees asked not to bring backpacks or other bags and organizers vigilant to keep lines from forming outside.
Crew has helped host these election-night parties since they started in Brussels in 2004. She says the difference in the political atmosphere between this year and 2008, when Barack Obama first ran, is stark. "There was a very symbolic feeling about electing the first black president," she said, "and this has been such a different election from the beginning. It's just been so negative."
Personally, Crew says, she also regrets that there has not been a similar groundswell of positive energy for breaking another glass ceiling and potentially electing the first female U.S. president, which she calls a "real shame".
Crew, who has dual British-Belgian nationality, said everyone she knows is worried and the shock outcome of the Brexit vote has exacerbated that because of the parallels between the two campaigns - what Crew called the "anti-establishment, anti-government feeling" amongst a large part of the population.
But she echoed Dunhill in saying that much of the European sentiment is simply bewilderment. "It does seem strange to us," she said, "that somebody who's not a politician, somebody who so lacks political experience, who's like a joke TV figure" may be the next US president. At this point, no one can say for certain that's not going to happen.
Counting the minutes til morning or mourning
European commentators and opinion leaders are expected to be out early Wednesday with reactions, whether or not they've stayed up all night. The European Parliament's (EP) audiovisual department has notified journalists it will be providing lawmakers with facilities to give interviews; some press offices are offering overnight spokespeople. EP President Martin Schulz will be "available" from 0700 Brussels time and is expected to release an early statement.
At NATO headquarters, the media team says Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will receive regular updates overnight and will have something to say early Wednesday.
Starting at 4 a.m. Brussels time, the US mission to Belgium will be hosting journalists to watch final results roll in and the American ambassadors to Belgium, the EU and NATO will join them. US Ambassador to NATO Douglas Lute in particular has spent plenty of time reassuring NATO that regardless of Trump rhetoric, the US will not abandon its obligations under the collective security mantle.
Even with Clinton holding a slight lead heading into voting day, one prominent Brussels-based Democrat told DW she was so nervous she was physically ill. In this city, Donald Trump has described as a "hellhole", it's going to be a long night.
Fun facts about Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton
Think you know everything there is to know about presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton? Here are some things that may surprise you, including their rather cavalier attitudes toward their own hair.
Image: Reuters/J. Young
Behind the public personas
In a race that seems to have lasted half an eternity, the US presidential candidates are finally heading down the homestretch. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton's faces have been nearly omnipresent for over a year, but both have a number of unusual features that sometimes get ignored.
Image: DW/M. Santos
Hillary the conservative
Hillary Clinton grew up in a conservative household in Illinois. Her father manufactured drapery, and as a young woman she was a Republican who supported both Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon. It was only later that she became a Democrat and let down her hair - much to the delight of many a coiffeur.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Ron Sachs
Donald the political gadfly
In his earlier years, it was difficult to tell which party, if any, Trump supported. In the past he endorsed Democratic candidates, including Bill and Hillary Clinton, and some of his statements over the years have been remarkably liberal. He only found his way to the Republicans late in life - much to the dismay of some members of the party.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/T. A. Clary
Not initially convinced by Bill
Hillary Clinton initially owed her fame to the fact that she was married to the president of the United States. But when Bill first asked for her hand, she said no. He had to propose several times before she agreed to become his wife.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/Greg Gibson
Trump as pageant peeper
From 1996 until 2015, Trump owned part or all of the Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA beauty pageants, and by his own admission, he paid occasional visits to the contestants' backstage dressing areas to check that everything was in its … er … right place. That may account for Miss California's expression here.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Lane
First female Wal-Mart board member
Clinton was the first female ever to serve on the board of US discount department store Wal-Mart. The company is - to put it delicately - not exactly known for being worker-friendly. Years later Hillary did a signing of her autobiography at one of Wal-Mart's many outlets, where employees would have had difficulty affording a copy.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Jim Lo Scalzo
Trump's lucrative sideline
Although he got his start in real estate, Trump has appeared in a number of films and TV shows, including, of course, the reality show The Apprentice. He's a member of the Screen Actors' Guild and receives an annual pension of more than $110,000 for his work on screen. He got his recently repaired star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame in 2007.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/N. Stern
Cows about that for a profit?
In this image, Bill seems to be taking more of an interest in cows, but it's Hillary who has more history with them. In the late 1970s, she turned $1,000 into nearly $100,000 trading in cattle futures. Critics say these dealings were corrupt, but no charges have ever been brought in connection with this bovine bonanza.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Honda
Inside the squared circle
Trump made numerous appearances inside the wrestling ring as part of a supposed feud with World Wrestling Entertainment boss Vince McMahon. What better preparation for the post-factual era? Trump's facility with rigged battles earned him induction into the Wrestling Hall of Fame. Wanna bet that he'd love to re-enact this scene with Hillary?
Image: Getty Images
A woman of do's and don'ts
As first lady, Clinton was known for experimenting with various styles. In 1996 "Vanity Fair" magazine claimed that she had sported 43 different hairstyles in the White House - enough to suit a broad variety of occasions. This is the one she wore when talking about Monica Lewinsky, the intern with whom her husband had an affair.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Naltchayan
Just says no
Donald Trump insists that he has never tried alcohol and cigarettes, and among his many claims, this one stands out because it seems to be true. Those who know and have met him confirm that he is indeed a teetotaler. What was that again about power being the ultimate drug?
Image: Getty Images/AFP/K. Betancour
A woman of the world
As secretary of state, Clinton visited more foreign countries (112) than any previous holder of that office. (For the record, Condoleezza Rice logged more flight miles.) When she stepped down in 2013, her staff gave her a football jersey with the number 112.
Image: Getty Images/Department of State
A hands-off candidate
Much was made about Trump and Clinton not shaking hands before their second debate, but in fact the Donald prefers not to shake hands with anyone and is regarded as a germaphobe. It's a quality also associated with Howard Hughes, Michael Jackson, Nikola Tesla and Adolf Hitler.
Image: picture alliance/AP Images/S. Walsh
Clinton, the Grammy winner
Many detractors - and not a few supporters - find Hillary Clinton's voice grating to the ear. But that didn't prevent her from winning a Grammy in 1997 for best spoken word performance for the audio-book of her autobiography "It Takes a Village." BTW: Celine Dion won for best album that year. You draw the conclusions.
Image: picture-lliance/dpa
Always on center court
Almost everything about Trump seems a bit larger than life and beyond belief, so why should his legal history be any different? The Republican has been involved some 3,500 lawsuits in US federal and state courts. That's close but not quite good enough for an entry in the Guinness Book of Records. Note to Donald: Must try harder.