In Trump’s inner circle, there is an ongoing debate at the moment about who will break the news to him that he has lost. No number of legal challenges and recounts is going to turn this around. In Georgia, Biden’s lead is around 4,000 votes. In 2016 the recounts were at most 400 votes off- not 4,000. It’s over. Biden has won.
The so called red-mirage on election night was down to Trump urging his supporters to vote in person and not to use the mail in ballots. Republicans are more likely to vote in person and so in the early stages of counting it appeared that Trump had once again caused an electoral upset on par with 2016. The states where counting has continued in the last few days were the ones in which republican legislatures did not allow postal votes to be counted until election night. This has meant there has been a long wait for the final outcome of the election. The impression that the Trump campaign is seeking to spread, which is that counting these postal votes is illegal, is simply untrue and has no legal grounding.
As of writing, we are waiting for the results of Nevada, Pennsylvania or Georgia to take Biden beyond the crucial 270 electoral college votes. At this point Biden has pulled ahead in all three states and it’s now a waiting game for the Biden victory speech. Trump’s irate Twitter tirades have not only shocked Democrats but Republicans alike at his flagrant disregard for the democratic process. This has created the perfect setting for Biden’s own speeches which have been urging calm and promoting democratic values. There could not be a sharper contrast of the two candidates.
There has been a surprising amount of grumbling from the Democratic establishment since election night, as the different factions in the party decide why the Democrat landslide hasn’t emerged. Moderates are blaming ‘socialists’ and ‘socialists’ are blaming the attempts of Biden to appeal to Republican moderates. This is all peculiar when it seems that Biden is set to not only win the Presidential election by a record number of votes but also do it with a comfortable number of electoral college votes. There look to be two seats in the Senate that will have run-off elections in January- both in Georgia. This presents the Democrats the opportunity to take the Senate along with the Presidency and the House.
The reason such divisions were brought to light has been the polls showing a Democrat landslide before election night. There were predictions that not only would the Democrats take back Florida, but that Texas might flip too. Polls seem to have dramatically underestimated the support which Trump evidently still has in America. Biden might try to unite the country again but looking at the numbers and how 70 million Americans voted for Trump, America hasn’t looked so divided since the Civil War.
There are concerns that Trump won’t want to leave office and will refuse to concede to Biden. The Biden campaign has already addressed these issues saying that the White House will have no problem getting trespassers out come January. Republicans will be far from keen to support Trump’s desperate attempts to keep power as they will want to look as electable as possible to maintain control of the Senate in January. History will not forget which Republicans are showing Trump’s ravings their support.
On one final note, it appears that Twitter are seriously considering banning Trump’s Twitter account in January, as he will no longer be in political office which grants certain privileges. Just something to look forward to in the coming year!
