The former vice president has urged his supporters to be 'patient' as all the votes are counted
Credit: AFP
US 2020 election
Joe Biden’s campaign on Friday vowed to kick out “trespassers” from the White House as Donald Trump clung to power despite the Democratic nominee’s lead increasing in critical swing states.
As Mr Biden pulled into a commanding lead with the election result still in the balance, Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House speaker, declared that the war was “won” amid signs Mr Biden was preparing for the US presidency.
On Friday night a major split in the Republican Party was emerging, with senators and grandees chastising Mr Trump for claiming the election was being stolen but the president’s sons and loyalists calling for support.
There were reports from Fox News that some White House aides were urging Mr Trump to concede, even as others encouraged him to fight one, with the president himself showing no sign of backing down.
Mr Biden was due to address the nation on Friday night, should the result be called by US television networks as the five critical battleground states that would decide the winner continued to count votes.
As counting approached a fifth day, the Trump campaign continued to pursue lawsuits as America and the world watched on awaiting the ultimate declaration of the victor.
On Friday Mr Biden overtook Mr Trump in the vote counts in Georgia and Pennsylvania while retaining his leads in Arizona and Nevada. Mr Trump remained ahead in North Carolina.
Pennsylvania alone would be enough to send Mr Biden over the 270 electoral vote mark needed to secure the presidency.
All four states would take Mr Biden to 306 electoral votes, a higher figure than either of George W Bush’s wins in 2000 and 2004.
For much of Friday Mr Biden and his top campaign officials kept away from the cameras as they watched the vote counts continue to tip in his favour.
However there was some pushback on the president’s false insistence he had won. Andrew Bates, a Biden campaign spokesman, said: “As we said on July 19th, the American people will decide this election. And the United States government is perfectly capable of escorting trespassers out of the White House.”
CNN reported that “national defence airspace” had been cleared above Biden’s home and his secret service detail was being expanded.
In another sign that Mr Biden was preparing to become America’s 46th president it was reported that he was working on plans for his transition into office.
As Friday evening approached Mr Trump had not appeared before the cameras but continued to push his grievances via Twitter and through statements issued by his campaign.
In one Mr Trump said of the election: “We will pursue this process through every aspect of the law to guarantee that the American people have confidence in our government. I will never give up fighting for you and our nation.”
The claims of wrongdoing have been widely disputed, not just from Democrats but increasingly from Republicans, who have begun to go public with their criticisms.
Mitt Romney, the Utah senator who was the Republican presidential nominee in 2012, said Mr Trump was within his rights to seek investigations into “irregularities” but condemned his broader attacks on the electoral process.
Mr Romney said: “He is wrong to say the election was rigged, corrupt and stolen — doing so damages the cause of freedom here and around the world… and recklessly inflames destructive and dangerous passions.”
Geographical US election map
John Bolton, Mr Trump’s former national security’ adviser said: “We Republicans are facing a character test. All candidates are entitled to pursue appropriate election-law remedies if they have evidence supporting their claims. “They should certainly not lie. The first Republican president was called ‘Honest Abe’ for a reason.”
However the Trump campaign was not conceding on Friday afternoon. They released a statement yesterday condemning the media’s convergence for implying Mr Biden was about to win after he pulled ahead of the president in Pennsylvania.
Shortly after that happened the Trump campaign released a statement headlined “This election is not over”. The end of the statement said: “Biden is relying on these states for his phony claim on the White House, but once the election is final, President Trump will be re-elected.”
Should Mr Biden be confirmed as the winner of the election, he will enter the White House on January 20 2021, inauguration day.
How much of his agenda laid out during the campaign he would be able to achieve remains unclear given control of the US Senate was still undecided as of Friday afternoon.
As vice president, Kamala Harris would decide ties in the senate if both Republicans and Democrats win 50 seats
Credit: AP
The race for the final Senate seats was razor-tight. It looked set to run until January, given unusual election rules meant two close Georgia senator races could be run again with just two candidates.
With Mr Biden pulling ahead it meant that Kamala Harris, his running mate, was on the brink of becoming the US vice president.
The Californian senator would become the first woman of colour to be elected to either the presidency or the vice presidency in the two-and-a half century history of the United States.
Ms Harris is the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother. She had sought the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination but dropped out early in the race.
Should the Senate end with 50 Democratic senators and 50 Republican senators then the vice president, who if Mr Biden wins would be Ms Harris, would cast the deciding vote.
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