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WASHINGTON: Democrat Joe Biden said on Friday (November 6) that he would win the presidency of the United States as his lead over President Donald Trump increased in battle states, though television networks refrained from declaring so victor while officials continued to count votes.
“The numbers tell us … it’s a clear and compelling story: we’re going to win this race,” Biden said, adding that he and his running mate Kamala Harris were already meeting with experts as they prepared for the White House.
Biden’s speech was originally planned as a victory celebration, but he changed his focus in the absence of an official call from broadcasters and other election forecasters.
Americans have had to wait longer than in any presidential election since 2000 to find out who the winner is. With thousands of votes yet to be counted, it was unclear when the bitter contest would end.
The delay in the verdict can be attributed to high turnout, a large number of mail-in ballots, sparked by COVID-19 fears, and narrow margins between the two candidates. But Biden had the upper hand in Pennsylvania, Nevada and Georgia, putting him in an increasingly strong position to capture the 270 electoral college votes needed to take the White House.
There was intense focus in Pennsylvania, where Biden led Trump by more than 27,000 votes, and Nevada, where the Democrat led by about 22,000. The lengthy wait added to anxiety for a nation facing historic challenges, including the growing pandemic and deep political polarization.
While addressing the nation near his home in Wilmington, Delaware, Biden acknowledged that the slow pace of the count “can be overwhelming.” But he added: “Never forget that counts are not just numbers: they represent votes and voters.”
Standing next to his running mate Kamala Harris and against a backdrop of flags, Biden was unable to deliver the acceptance speech his attendees expected. But it reached notes of unity, apparently intended to cool the temperature of a divided and heated nation.
READ: Why does the counting of votes take so long in the United States?
Live updates: Biden on the brink of victory in the US presidential race.
“We have to remember that the purpose of our policy is not a total, relentless and endless war,” he said. “No, the purpose of our policy, the job of our nation, is not to fan the flames of conflict, but to solve problems, ensure justice, give everyone a fair chance.”
Trump remained in the White House and out of sight as the results gradually expanded Biden’s lead in Pennsylvania that he must win. In the west wing, televisions stayed tuned to the news amid the trappings of normalcy on Friday, as reporters lined up for coronavirus tests and outdoor crews worked in the north lawn on a mild fall day. and muggy.
Trump’s campaign was mostly quiet, a dramatic difference from earlier in the week, when officials expressed confidence and held a series of press conferences announcing litigation in key states. But his inner circle was once again affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows contracted the virus, according to two senior White House officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss private matters. A campaign assistant, Nick Trainer, also tested positive.
LEE: Trump says that Biden ‘should not unfairly claim’ the presidency
Trump’s handling of the pandemic has been the defining theme of the campaign. The president, first lady Melania Trump and several other members of the White House staff and campaign have fallen ill.
STATES STILL IN PLAY
A handful of states remained in play: Georgia and North Carolina are still too early to call along with Pennsylvania and Nevada. In all four states, the margins between Trump and Biden were too narrow and the number of ballots left to be counted was too great for the AP to declare a winner.
The uncertainty left Americans across the country glued to their televisions and smartphones, seeking updates on a vote count that, for many, seemed to be progressing slowly.
The delays, and the reasons, varied from state to state. In Pennsylvania, officials were unable to begin processing mail-in ballots until Election Day under state law. In Nevada, there were a series of provisional votes cast by voters who registered on Election Day, and officials had to verify their eligibility. And the counts could start in both Pennsylvania and Georgia.
Since his path to reelection seemed very narrow, Trump was testing how far he could go by using the trappings of presidential power to undermine confidence in the vote.
He took to Twitter on Friday night to promise further legal action, tweeting that “Joe Biden should not unfairly claim the office of president. I could also make that claim. The legal proceedings are just beginning! “
Trump claimed he won late on election night. He also tweeted that he had “such a huge lead in all of these states until late on election night, only to see it miraculously disappear as the days passed,” although it was well known that votes cast before Tuesday were still counted. legally. .
LEE: Trump faces a difficult path to get the Supreme Court to intervene
The uncertainty carried a hint of danger in some places.
Pro-Trump protesters, some of them openly carrying rifles and pistols, demonstrated in front of vote-tabulation centers in some cities across the country on Friday, responding to Trump’s unsubstantiated allegations that Democrats were trying to rob the House. White About 100 Trump supporters gathered for the third day in a row in front of the polling place in Phoenix, where hundreds of workers processed and counted the ballots.
Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, a potential presidential hopeful who has often criticized Trump, said there is “no defense” for Trump’s comments that “undermine our Democratic process.” The United States is counting the votes and we must respect the results as we always have. “
But others rumored to be considering a run of their own in the White House in four years lined up with the incumbent, including Josh Hawley, who tweeted his support for Trump’s claims and wrote that “if the last 24 hours have something clear is that we need new electoral integrity laws NOW ”.
The Trump campaign has engaged in a flurry of legal activity in the battlefield states.
On Friday night, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito approved a request from the Republican Party directing county boards to abide by Pennsylvania state guidance to keep late ballots separate from those received before or on the day of the elections. However, Alito did not order election officials to stop counting the ballots, as Republicans had also sought.
READ: Supreme Court denies immediate cessation of Pennsylvania’s count
But judges in Michigan, Georgia and Pennsylvania quickly rejected other legal action. Instead, a federal judge who was asked to stop the counting of votes in Philadelphia forced the two sides to reach an agreement without an order on the number of observers allowed.
This year, a record 103 million Americans voted early, choosing to avoid long lines at polling places during a pandemic. With the count still ongoing in some states, Biden had already received more than 74 million votes, more than any presidential candidate before him. More than 236,000 Americans have died during the coronavirus pandemic, nearly 10 million have been infected, and millions of jobs have been lost.
Biden said he expected to address Americans again on Saturday.
