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Video report from ITV News Washington correspondent Robert Moore
Joe Biden is ahead of Donald Trump in the key battlefield states from Pennsylvania and Georgia, as the Democratic challenger approaches the Presidency of the United States.
Donald Trump initially had a comfortable lead in both states, but mail-in ballots and absentee votes in urban centers like Atlanta in Georgia and Philadelphia in Pennsylvania have tipped the race in favor of his rival.
Mr trump need to win Pennsylvania if you want to win the presidency.
As is:
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Biden leads Trump in Pennsylvania by 13,707 votes
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Biden leads Trump in Georgia by 1,589 votes
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Biden leads Trump in Nevada by 20,137 votes
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Biden leads Trump in Arizona by 39,769 votes
A win for Biden in Georgia, along with a win in Arizona or Nevada, where he is currently ahead, would also smash any hope that Trump will achieve the 270 Electoral College Votes Required to Win Election.
According to CNN projections, Biden currently has 253 votes in the electoral college, while Trump has 213.
Rebecca Barry reports on the Pennsylvania race:
Biden’s campaign has said that he will give a speech on Friday night (estimated around 1am UK time), but officials did not say where Biden will speak or what he plans to say.
Mr. Biden will speak with his running mate Kamala harris to address the nation.
ITV News understands that the speech will be a “celebration” rather than a declaration of victory in the race.
ITV News correspondent Emma Murphy has more on what Biden’s speech might contain:
There have been protests in several US states on both sides of the political spectrum, as the race results remain unclear, three days after Election Day.
the The Trump campaign has also continued to make repeated false claims of “fraud.” in the voting and recount process, an accusation without substantial evidence to support it.
A recount is due in Georgia, while the Trump campaign has said it will seek a recount in Wisconsin alongside existing legal challenges in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Nevada.
ITV News Washington correspondent Robert Moore discusses what could happen next:
There has already been a small victory for Trump’s legal team; on Thursday a court order gave Republicans permission to observe the count in Pennsylvania from a distance of six feet.
Pennsylvania was a key state on the battlefield that Trump beat the Democrats in 2016, while Georgia has been a Republican stronghold in every presidential election since 1996.
Military votes in Georgia have yet to be added, but with 99% of the votes counted, Biden is now a firm favorite to become the 46th president of the United States.
The count is also ongoing in Arizona and Nevada, two states in which Biden is expanding his leadership.
Listen to ITV News’ US Election Podcast, Will Trump Win? with reaction and analysis to the election night
What happened overnight in the UK?
The electoral race in the United States is now entering its final stretch, with much of the action happening overnight in the United Kingdom given the time difference.
On Friday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would not comment on the race as long as the votes continued to be counted.
When asked if he would miss Donald Trump if the president loses, Johnson said: “The prime minister of the United Kingdom is always going to work very closely with whoever the president of the United States is.”
Joe Biden is now in the lead in the four battle states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada.
The Democratic candidate has 253 votes in the electoral college, so he only needs 17 more to become the 46th president of the United States.
Trump is 213 behind the electoral college votes.
The 20 votes from the Pennsylvania Electoral College would be enough to carry Biden to the top, as would the victories of two from Arizona, Nevada or Georgia.
Trump is expected to support North Carolina and Alaska, which are still up for grabs, but neither will take him above the 270-vote electoral college threshold needed to win.
Biden overcame Trump’s leadership in Pennsylvania, where the president once had a comfortable lead.
The Rust Belt state first counted all ballots in person, which greatly favored Republicans.
Now the mail-in votes are being counted, which greatly favors the Democrats.
At one point, Trump led Pennsylvania by around 600,000 votes.
A similar pattern has emerged in Georgia, traditionally a Republican stronghold worth 16 electoral college votes.
Biden has now surpassed Trump in Georgia and has a 917-vote lead in a state that has voted Republicans in every presidential election since 1996.
Biden has also increased his lead in Nevada and Arizona, with six and 11 electoral college votes respectively, as Trump’s road to 270 begins to look increasingly difficult.
Why does Donald Trump keep repeating accusations of ‘fraud’?
Trump has sought to question the election result, repeating unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in several key states on the battlefield.
“If you count the legal votes that I easily won. If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us,” he told reporters at the White House on Thursday.
The president added: “There have been a lot of mischief and we cannot bear that in our country.”
Trump has never provided evidence of voter fraud to back up his claims.
The president lashed out at voting by mail, even though he himself voted that way, and questioned why those ballots were “so one-sided” when he told his supporters to vote in person.
Now he has launched a campaign fund asking his supporters to donate to “defend the integrity of our elections.”
What has been Joe Biden’s response?
Joe Biden has continued to reiterate his position: “Every vote must be counted.”
The Democrat, who is ahead in the race, wrote on Twitter shortly before Trump’s speech at the White House: “People will not be silenced, intimidated or surrendered.”
Mr biden he previously urged the United States to “stay calm” as the count continues.
Biden, who has received more than 72 million votes, the most in U.S. history, is moving toward the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Biden said: “Every ballot must be counted and that is what we will see now.”
He added: “Senator Harris and I feel very good about where things are and when the count is over, Senator Harris and I will be declared winners.”
What has been the reaction of the Republicans?
Trump’s allegations of election fraud have split the Republican Party in half.
Nicki Hayley, former United States Ambassador to the UN and Governor of South Carolina, endorsed the president, tweeting: “We all must @realDonaldTrump for his leadership in the conservative victories of the Senate, House and state legislatures.
“He and the American people deserve transparency and fairness in the counting of votes. The law must be followed. We have to maintain faith that the truth will prevail.”
The president’s son, Donald Trump Jr, tweeted: “Losing fairness and righteousness is one thing, but in the face of all this video evidence, the lack of transparency, the clogging of the windows, the struggle to keep polls from being seen, etc., etc. Republicans don’t stand up now showing their true colors. “It will make the primary process of 2024 much easier.
But Senator Marco Rubio, who ran against Trump to become the Republican presidential candidate in 2016, believes that “a state is violating electoral laws and has the right to challenge it in court and present evidence in support of its claims.”
Rubio previously said: “Taking days to count votes cast legally is NOT fraud. And legal challenges to votes cast after the statutory voting deadline is NOT a suppression.”
Retired Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona was more blunt: “No Republican should agree with the president’s statements at this time. Unacceptable. Period.”
Republican Senator Mitt Romney posted a statement on Twitter saying the president was “wrong in saying the election was rigged, corrupted and stolen.”
Senator Romney said Trump was “within his right” to challenge vote counts “when there is evidence,” but said the baseless allegations “recklessly ignite destructive and dangerous passions.”
Others in the party have asked for patience as tensions threaten to erupt.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Trump ally who won re-election Tuesday in Kentucky, told reporters that “claiming you won the election is different than ending the count.”
Listen to the ITV News Politics Podcast:
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