Biden on The way to victory While Trump Attacks At The Integrity of The Election (on states his loosing)
AP PHOTO/EVAN VUCCI
While Biden clearly sees path to victory, Trump attacks election integrity without any evidence; Election exposes America’s searing divides
In an extraordinary time, both crisis-laden and perilous, after a four-year U.S. presidential tenure which has upended a myriad of domestic and foreign policy norms, there was another stunning moment at the White House as a fraught nation, and world, anxiously awaited the final election results.
Donald Trump severely tested how far he can go in using the trappings of presidential power to undermine confidence in this week's election against Joe Biden, as the Democrat gained ground in tight contests in some key battleground states and saw a clear path to the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House.
With his pathway to re-election appearing to shrink, Trump touted unsupported accusations of voter fraud to falsely argue that his rival was trying to seize power. It amounted to an extraordinary effort by a sitting American president to sow doubt about the democratic process, Jonathan Lemire, Zeke Miller and Will Weissert report.
He lashed out in a performance that suggested he knew his prospects for a second term were slipping away.
“This is a case when they are trying to steal an election, they are trying to rig an election,” Trump baselessly claimed from the podium of the White House briefing room.
His remarks deepened a sense of anxiety in the U.S. as Americans enter their third full day after the election without knowing who would serve as president for the next four years. His statements also prompted a rebuke from some Republicans, particularly those looking to steer the party in a different direction in a post-Trump era.
In the meantime, Biden tried to ease tensions, reassure the nation, and project a more traditional image of presidential leadership. “Each ballot must be counted,” he declared.
“I ask everyone to stay calm. The process is working,” Biden said.
BREAKING: Biden overtakes Trump in battleground Georgia vote count. Follow all developments from AP here.
EXPLAINER--States of Play: A handful of states remained in play in the tightly contested race. The outcome of contests in Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Nevada will determine whether Biden, or Trump wins. Brian Slodysko has the latest lay of the electoral land.
EXPLAINER: Why AP hasn't called Pennsylvania.
EXPLAINER: A closer look at Arizona.
Trump Analysis: When the president stepped to the podium in the White House and made a frontal attempt to undermine the vote, it was at the same time both shocking and utterly to be expected. Trump had spent months laying the groundwork for such a moment. He had repeatedly questioned the validity of mail-in ballots. He had dismissed election officials from Democratic states and cities as political hacks. And he had demanded in advance that the results be known on Election Day, which is never a given. All of that belies the truth about how elections are conducted in America, where voter fraud is extremely rare, White House news editor Nancy Benac writes.
AP FACT CHECK finds Trump fabricates election corruption: Trump unleashed a torrent of accusations about the integrity of the election. AP closely tracked distortions and falsehoods throughout his remarks. He spoke of an election rife with fraud and “horror stories.” He presented no evidence of systemic problems in voting or counting. In fact, the ballot-counting process across the country has been running smoothly, even with the U.S. in the throes of the pandemic, Calvin Woodward and Maryclaire Dale report.
U.S. TV Networks cut away from Trump's White House address.
VIDEO: Biden feels 'very good' about election outcome.
Legal Challenges: Trump is looking at a political map in which he might have to persuade the Supreme Court to set aside votes in two or more states to prevent Biden from becoming president. That’s a substantially different scenario than in the contested presidential election of 2000, which was effectively settled by the Supreme Court, Mark Sherman and Jessica Gresko report.
EXPLAINER: What's happening with poll watchers?
VIDEO: International observers say no evidence for Trump's fraud claims.
Protests: Election officials in several states say they are worried about the safety of their staffs amid a cascade of threats and protesters responding to Trump’s fact-free insistence of widespread voter fraud in the race for the White House, Nomaan Merchant and Tim Sullivan report. Groups of Trump supporters have gathered at vote tabulation sites in Phoenix, Detroit and Philadelphia, decrying counts that showed Biden leading or gaining ground. The protests have not been violent or very large.
PHOTOS: Protests over vote counting as US awaits result.
Latinos: Trump and his GOP allies made inroads with Latinos that eroded Democratic strength among the nation's second-largest demographic group. Not only did Trump win Florida partly from his support in heavily Cuban American Miami, but he also won some heavily Latino areas along the Texas border and ate away at Democratic margins among Latinos in New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada. The inroads demonstrate the diversity of the Latino electorate and how its members can be far more interested in the economy and jobs than in immigration, Nicholas Riccardi and Adriana Gomez Licon report.
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