US Elections: Donald Trump spoke at a White House press conference.
New Delhi:
US President Donald Trump falsely declared his victory over Democratic rival Joe Biden early Wednesday with millions of votes still not counted in a close race for the White House. Shortly after Biden said he was confident in his victory and warned the tally “could take some time,” Trump showed up to the White House to claim victory and said he would surrender. before the Supreme Court. Americans have braced for a prolonged period of uncertainty with results still expected from key states including Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.
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“We were about to win this election. Frankly, we won this election,” Trump said at a special White House press conference at 2:30 a.m.
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“This is a major fraud for our nation. We want the law to be used properly. So we will go to the Supreme Court of the United States. We want all votes to cease,” said the president, who said monitored election results. with family members in the living room of the White House residence.
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Biden’s campaign quickly hit back, calling the president’s attempt to stop counting votes “scandalous” and “unprecedented”, and saying his legal teams were ready to fight him in court.
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“The tally will not stop. It will continue until every duly cast vote is counted,” the Biden campaign said.
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Polls have closed and voting stopped across the country, but U.S. state election laws require all votes to be counted, and many states routinely take days to complete the legal ballot count. More votes were due to be counted this year than in the past, with people voting early by mail and in person due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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Trump won the battlefields of Florida, Ohio and Texas, erasing Biden’s hopes of a decisive early victory. Biden won Arizona and his hopes rest on the so-called “blue wall” states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania that sent Trump to the White House in 2016.
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Trump led in all three states in the partial counts, with Democratic mail-in ballots remaining to be counted. Winning those three states would be enough to give Biden a victory in the Electoral College.
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“We believe we are on the right track to winning this election,” Biden said in a speech earlier in his hometown of Delaware.
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Biden leads 224-213 over Trump in the fight for 270 Electoral College votes.
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In tweets, Trump had accused Democrats of “stealing the election”, without providing any evidence. Biden said in his speech shortly after: “It is neither me nor Donald Trump to declare the winner of this election. It is the voters’ place.”
(With contributions from Reuters and AFP)
