US Presidential elections 2020: White House is turning blue

By: Seema Sirohi

It’s the best of times and the worst of times in America. The White House was getting ready to turn blue as Democratic challenger Joe Biden took the lead in two key states that President Donald Trump had hoped would deliver him a second term.

For the first time in three days since vote counting began, Biden was leading in Pennsylvania and Georgia. He was just six electoral votes away from the magic number of 270, while Trump was considerably behind at 214. Trump has to win all remaining states and Biden has to clinch just one more.


But this ultimate drama capping an already mind bending 2020 comes with a warning: It may not end just yet. The next acts will likely unfold in the courts because a concession speech is far from Trump’s mind. The Trump campaign issued a statement Friday declaring, “This election is not over”, and demanding a recount in Georgia. Local officials agreed a recount was a near certainty given the narrow margins. Trump raised the ante in a 15-minute ‘darshan’ on Thursday evening and levelled allegations of voter fraud, arguing the election was being stolen from him. The charges were deemed incendiary and dismissed out of hand by most US analysts, including on the Trump-friendly Fox News channel. No one suggested they be investigated.

The courts didn’t seem eager to entertain them either – two Trump lawsuits were dismissed, one in Georgia to disqualify 50 ballots that arrived late, and the other in Michigan asking for an emergency halt in counting.

But legal challenges are a part of Trump’s strategy to undermine the legitimacy of the election process and, thus, keep his voter base tuned in and agitated. His two sons have used social media to incite supporters and other Republicans to show some real love for their father. But Republican lawmakers maintained ‘social distance’ from Trump’s allegations while providing vague statements that every vote should be counted. They kept one foot on land and one in the Trump boat for survival. Meanwhile, the people waited patiently for the wheels of American democracy to grind and produce a final result. National anxiety was weapons-grade and zoom calls with therapists and family members more frequent.

Biden advised that “all people stay calm” and patient. He said democracy can sometimes be ‘messy’. His demeanour was that of a victor. “We have no doubt that when the count is finished, Senator (Kamala) Harris and I will be declared the winners,” he said.