talkingpointsmemo--2020-11-05--Plaintiffs In USPS Suit Want Facilities Scoured For Ballots As PA Mail-In Deadline Looms

Plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the United States Postal Service said Thursday that it is crucial that USPS take steps to “ sweep ” facilities and ensure that any outstanding ballots be delivered by Friday in Pennsylvania and elsewhere .
In a hearing Thursday , plaintiffs dissected USPS processing data to show that hundreds or even potentially thousands of ballots were mailed on-time in the commonwealth but arrived or would arrive after Election Day .
Additional ballots , they said , are still traveling through the postal system .
What ’ s more , plaintiffs pointed out , not all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , meaning that even more ballots may be in the system than can be accounted for .
Pennsylvania ’ s ballot-counting procedure currently allows for votes to be tallied as long as they were mailed by Election Day and arrive at elections offices by Friday .
But Republicans have sued , so far unsuccessfully , to discard ballots that arrive at elections offices after Tuesday evening .
The shadow of a conservative Supreme Court that may be inclined to agree with them looms over the ballot-counting process .
Plaintiffs on Thursday urged U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to step up its efforts to deliver and report on any outstanding ballots in Pennsylvania and North Carolina .
“ We want to focus on getting as many ballots delivered by tomorrow as we can , assuming of course that they were postmarked by Election Day , ” said Shankar Duraiswamy , an attorney for Vote Forward , one of the plaintiffs in the case .
The USPS ballot processing data is imperfect .
For example , it may include ballots not destined for Pennsylvania elections offices , such as if someone temporarily @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their home state .
But plaintiffs stressed that the ballots in question could ultimately affect a close election .
“ We ’ re talking about potentially thousands of ballots put in the mail by voters Saturday or Sunday in Pennsylvania that were not delivered until after Election Day , ” Duraiswamy said , adding : “ I think it ’ s important to underscore the need for continued monitoring and continued attention to timely ballot delivery by the Postal Service .
”

Plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the United States Postal Service said Thursday that it is crucial that USPS take steps to “sweep” facilities and ensure that any outstanding ballots be delivered by Friday in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.
In a hearing Thursday, plaintiffs dissected USPS processing data to show that hundreds or even potentially thousands of ballots were mailed on-time in the commonwealth but arrived or would arrive after Election Day. Additional ballots, they said, are still traveling through the postal system. What’s more, plaintiffs pointed out, not all counties use barcodes that distinguish mail-in ballots, meaning that even more ballots may be in the system than can be accounted for.
Pennsylvania’s ballot-counting procedure currently allows for votes to be tallied as long as they were mailed by Election Day and arrive at elections offices by Friday.
But Republicans have sued, so far unsuccessfully, to discard ballots that arrive at elections offices after Tuesday evening. The shadow of a conservative Supreme Court that may be inclined to agree with them looms over the ballot-counting process.
Plaintiffs on Thursday urged U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan to order USPS to step up its efforts to deliver and report on any outstanding ballots in Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
“We want to focus on getting as many ballots delivered by tomorrow as we can, assuming of course that they were postmarked by Election Day,” said Shankar Duraiswamy, an attorney for Vote Forward, one of the plaintiffs in the case.
The USPS ballot processing data is imperfect. For example, it may include ballots not destined for Pennsylvania elections offices, such as if someone temporarily in Pennsylvania mailed an absentee ballot to their home state.
But plaintiffs stressed that the ballots in question could ultimately affect a close election.
“We’re talking about potentially thousands of ballots put in the mail by voters Saturday or Sunday in Pennsylvania that were not delivered until after Election Day,” Duraiswamy said, adding: “I think it’s important to underscore the need for continued monitoring and continued attention to timely ballot delivery by the Postal Service.”


talkingpointsmemo--2020-11-07--PA GOP Won’t Get The SCOTUS Intervention It Asked For Just Yet

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has asked Pennsylvania to respond by Saturday afternoon to a GOP request that the court order election officials not to count the mail ballots that arrive during a disputed , post-Election Day grace period .
But Alito ’ s order stopped short of giving Pennsylvania Republicans everything that they wanted — earlier Friday the state party had asked for an emergency Supreme Court intervention .
Instead , Alito ordered that election officials follow voluntarily guidance issued by the state late last month that they segregate the late-arriving ballots .
Alito ’ s order said that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that they should be counted separately .
The state GOP has asked the court to order that officials only segregate and log the late-arriving ballots , and take no further action on them beyond that .
There has been no evidence put forward to suggest that election officials were deviating from Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar ’ s guidance to segregate the ballots .
The Republicans instead pointed to their inability to verify that all of Pennsylvania ’ s counties were following that guidance .
By seeking out a response to the Republicans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ court ’ s initial response to the GOP request because he oversees the circuit that contains Pennsylvania — nonetheless played along with the Republicans ’ fear-mongering that the election officials couldn ’ t be trusted to follow the previous guidance .
Alito also seemed to buy the Republicans ’ assertion that the minor tweaks that Boockvar made to the late-October guidance were another reason to be suspicious that the ballots aren ’ t being segregated .
Alito ’ s order said he was also referring the matter to the rest of the court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confirmed to TPM that their understanding of the updated guidance is that they are not to include the late-arriving ballots in the count tallies being released this week .
It ’ s unclear if at some point they ’ ll release separately a count of the ballots that arrived after Election Day , but before Friday evening — the extended period that is currently being challenged .
Republicans are challenging the mail ballots that arrived in that time period because it was a state Supreme Court decision that extended the receipt deadline from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attempts to get the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the deadline were not successful , but Trump ’ s latest appointee , Justice Amy Coney Barrett , has yet to weigh in on the dispute .
Pennsylvania officials have said that so far , it appears that the number of late arriving are very small compared to the overall total number of ballots , and , if current trends hold , unlikely to tip the election .

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has asked Pennsylvania to respond by Saturday afternoon to a GOP request that the court order election officials not to count the mail ballots that arrive during a disputed, post-Election Day grace period.
But Alito’s order stopped short of giving Pennsylvania Republicans everything that they wanted — earlier Friday the state party had asked for an emergency Supreme Court intervention.
Instead, Alito ordered that election officials follow voluntarily guidance issued by the state late last month that they segregate the late-arriving ballots. Alito’s order said that if election officials counted those ballots, that they should be counted separately.
The state GOP has asked the court to order that officials only segregate and log the late-arriving ballots, and take no further action on them beyond that.
There has been no evidence put forward to suggest that election officials were deviating from Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar’s guidance to segregate the ballots. The Republicans instead pointed to their inability to verify that all of Pennsylvania’s counties were following that guidance.
By seeking out a response to the Republicans claims, Alito — who handled the court’s initial response to the GOP request because he oversees the circuit that contains Pennsylvania — nonetheless played along with the Republicans’ fear-mongering that the election officials couldn’t be trusted to follow the previous guidance.
Alito also seemed to buy the Republicans’ assertion that the minor tweaks that Boockvar made to the late-October guidance were another reason to be suspicious that the ballots aren’t being segregated.
Alito’s order said he was also referring the matter to the rest of the court.
County officials in Pennsylvania have repeatedly confirmed to TPM that their understanding of the updated guidance is that they are not to include the late-arriving ballots in the count tallies being released this week. It’s unclear if at some point they’ll release separately a count of the ballots that arrived after Election Day, but before Friday evening — the extended period that is currently being challenged.
Republicans are challenging the mail ballots that arrived in that time period because it was a state Supreme Court decision that extended the receipt deadline from Tuesday to Friday.
Their first two attempts to get the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the deadline were not successful, but Trump’s latest appointee, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, has yet to weigh in on the dispute.
Pennsylvania officials have said that so far, it appears that the number of late arriving are very small compared to the overall total number of ballots, and, if current trends hold, unlikely to tip the election.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-11-06--PA GOP Goes To SCOTUS To Keep Late-Arriving Ballots From Being Counted

Pennsylvania Republicans filed an emergency request with the Supreme Court on Friday , asking it to order that late-arriving ballots — ballots that are currently being segregated from the state ’ s tally due to a deadline dispute — remain uncounted while the case is pending .
Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar ( D ) has directed election officials to keep those ballots separate from the count of Pennsylvania votes that is currently underway .
The dispute is over the deadline by which mail ballots can be received in the state .
Twice already the Republicans have failed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ballots arriving after Election Day be rejected .
In the filing , the Republicans cited a concern that , absent a Supreme Court order , individual counties might deviate from Boockvar ’ s guidance and start counting those ballots .
But given the language of what kind of order they want from the Supreme Court , it appears Republicans are seeking to avoid a scenario where election officials count those ballots separately and publicly release that tally .
The GOP wants the Court to tell the officials that they can “ segregate ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but take no other action with them .
If current trends hold , it appears extremely unlikely that Pennsylvania ’ s presidential election will come down to those ballots arriving in the state ’ s three-day grace period for receiving mailed-in votes after Tuesday .
In a filing related to another procedural issue that had come up in the case , Pennsylvania Democrats argued that the Supreme Court should avoid taking any action in the case while it was not clear that the disputed ballots would make a difference .
By seeking an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republicans appear to be heeding the President ’ s demands that the election be litigated to the most aggressive extent possible .
The legal gambits appear aimed at sowing confusion and uncertainty around the election that at this point appears to be tilting heavily towards former Vice President Joe Biden .
In the Pennsylvania case , the Republicans are arguing that a state Supreme Court decision extending the mail-ballot deadline should be reversed .
Their arguments rest on an extreme and controversial claim – not yet endorsed by a Supreme Court majority — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election rules that are made by an entity other than the state legislature are a violation of the U.S. Constitution .
The first time the Pennsylvania dispute reached the U.S. Supreme Court , several weeks before the election , the justices deadlocked 4-4 , which allowed the extended deadline to stand .
The second time , just days before the election , the U.S. Supreme Court also declined to step in to reverse the extension , though the vote count for that decision is not fully clear .
At that point , Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Justice Amy Coney Barrett , was on the court , but did not participate in that vote because she had joined the bench just a few days prior .
Three of the conservative justices at the time released a statement suggesting that they ’ d be willing to reject the late-arriving ballots after the fact and they invited the Republicans to seek the court ’ s intervention if those ballots weren ’ t being segregated .
It will take the votes of only four justices for the court to grant full review the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could have major repercussions for voting rights down the road .
But the court may decide to hold off on going that route while the election remains in flux .

Pennsylvania Republicans filed an emergency request with the Supreme Court on Friday, asking it to order that late-arriving ballots — ballots that are currently being segregated from the state’s tally due to a deadline dispute — remain uncounted while the case is pending.
Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar (D) has directed election officials to keep those ballots separate from the count of Pennsylvania votes that is currently underway.
The dispute is over the deadline by which mail ballots can be received in the state. Twice already the Republicans have failed to get the Supreme Court to order that ballots arriving after Election Day be rejected.
In the filing, the Republicans cited a concern that, absent a Supreme Court order, individual counties might deviate from Boockvar’s guidance and start counting those ballots.
But given the language of what kind of order they want from the Supreme Court, it appears Republicans are seeking to avoid a scenario where election officials count those ballots separately and publicly release that tally.
The GOP wants the Court to tell the officials that they can “segregate” and “log” those ballots, but take no other action with them.
If current trends hold, it appears extremely unlikely that Pennsylvania’s presidential election will come down to those ballots arriving in the state’s three-day grace period for receiving mailed-in votes after Tuesday.
In a filing related to another procedural issue that had come up in the case, Pennsylvania Democrats argued that the Supreme Court should avoid taking any action in the case while it was not clear that the disputed ballots would make a difference.
By seeking an emergency Supreme Court intervention now, Pennsylvania Republicans appear to be heeding the President’s demands that the election be litigated to the most aggressive extent possible. The legal gambits appear aimed at sowing confusion and uncertainty around the election that at this point appears to be tilting heavily towards former Vice President Joe Biden.
In the Pennsylvania case, the Republicans are arguing that a state Supreme Court decision extending the mail-ballot deadline should be reversed. Their arguments rest on an extreme and controversial claim – not yet endorsed by a Supreme Court majority — that changes to a state’s election rules that are made by an entity other than the state legislature are a violation of the U.S. Constitution.
The first time the Pennsylvania dispute reached the U.S. Supreme Court, several weeks before the election, the justices deadlocked 4-4, which allowed the extended deadline to stand. The second time, just days before the election, the U.S. Supreme Court also declined to step in to reverse the extension, though the vote count for that decision is not fully clear. At that point, Trump’s newest Supreme Court appointee, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, was on the court, but did not participate in that vote because she had joined the bench just a few days prior.
Three of the conservative justices at the time released a statement suggesting that they’d be willing to reject the late-arriving ballots after the fact and they invited the Republicans to seek the court’s intervention if those ballots weren’t being segregated.
It will take the votes of only four justices for the court to grant full review the case’s underlying claims — which could have major repercussions for voting rights down the road. But the court may decide to hold off on going that route while the election remains in flux.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-11-06--Why Recounts Are Not Likely To Reverse The Tide Against Trump

If current trends hold , former Vice President Joe Biden is on track to win the White House with 306 electoral votes — a not particularly close presidential election .
But when the relative tightness of the race in individual states is combined with the particularities of their recount procedures , we could see a scenario where a projected Joe Biden victory will be followed by multiple states recounting their ballots .
Multiple recounts should not , by themselves , be construed as a signal that the overall election result is likely to overturned – no matter what President Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recount rules work , some states could go into recounts even if their margin are not close enough to plausibly put them in Trump ’ s column .
Meanwhile , the states where a recount could decide who gets those particular electoral votes aren ’ t the ones that Biden is relying on to carry him to 270 .
Here ’ s a state-by-state look at the dynamics at play : Georgia : Georgia ’ s election officials have already confirmed that the state is heading to a recount .
Biden ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ votes — and almost certain to remain within the .5 percentage point margin that triggers an an automatic recount under state law .
The good news for Biden is that there are many ways for him to win the White House at this point that won ’ t depend on Georgia .
And most of those paths run through states where , even with recounts , the results are extremely unlikely to change .
But Democrats will have to wait until late November , at least , to find out if they eked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ State for the first time since 1992 .
That ’ s how long a top state elections official said on Friday that a recount would take .
Wisconsin : Trump ’ s campaign has already said that it will seek a recount in the Badger State , a totally legitimate request for the campaign to make .
Wisconsin recount laws allow the candidates to request a recount when the margin is under 1 percent .
The unofficial tabulation of the state ’ s votes shows Biden at .6 percentage points over Trump .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s nonetheless well out of the range of the kind of vote changes Wisconsin recounts have historically produced .
A recount of the 2016 presidential election — triggered by a Jill Stein request — changed the count by 131 votes .
A 2011 recount of a state Supreme Court race swung about 300 votes .
Biden is up by more than 20,000 votes .
The bigger question , perhaps , is whether the reportedly cash-strapped Trump campaign will really want to pay for the recount itself .
Under state law , taxpayers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .25 percent or lower .
Arizona : There are no options in Arizona for candidates ( or voters aligned with their campaigns ) to request a recount .
The only trigger is a close margin , which in a presidential contest , would require a race separated by just .1 percentage points .
Given the number of ballots left still to count , Biden ’ s current 43,000 vote lead is still considered a close one .
But the current margin is well outside that automatic trigger range , and Trump will have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it sufficiently .
Just as importantly , however , is that as long as Biden holds on to Wisconsin , Michigan , and Pennsylvania , losing Arizona won ’ t put him below 270 electoral votes .
Nevada : Biden ’ s narrow 22,000 vote Nevada lead is expected to widen as ballots from Democratic-leaning Clark County provide the bulk of what remains .
But no matter where the final tally lands , with no automatic recount trigger under Nevada law , it will then fall on Trump or his allies to request @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they ’ ll have to overcome some preliminary tests before a recount is conducted statewide .
First they ’ ll get to chose a set of sample precincts that amount to 5 percent of the ballots cast , and a recount will happen there .
Only if that recount shows a discrepancy from the original canvas of 1 percent of more can the candidate then ask for a statewide recount — but even then , it would still be within the secretary of state ’ s discretion whether to order such a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pennsylvania , like Georgia , has an automatic recount trigger for close races with margins of .5 percentage points or less .
The current count is within the margin , but tens of thousands of mail ballots have yet to be counted , so Biden running up the score in the final stretch could put an automatic recount off the table .
In that scenario , the possibility of a recount would then depend on voters initiating such a petition .
They could file such a petition before individual county boards , or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Stein ’ s 2016 failed bid for a full Pennsylvania recount showed , this scattershot approach is complicated and costly when it comes to getting a recount statewide .
It seems possible , given Trump ’ s pattern so far zeroing in on Pennsylvania , we could see such an effort mounted .
But current trends don ’ t suggest that Pennsylvania will be so close that a recount will change the results , and as as long as Arizona and Nevada remain in Biden ’ s column , Biden ’ s path @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pennsylvania , anyway .
Michigan : Trump is well outside the close-margin range ( 2,000 votes or less ) that would trigger an automatic recount under Michigan state law .
The only other scenario , per state law , where Trump could get a recount is one where he was able to put forth a “ good-faith ” allegation that there had been “ fraud or mistake ” that was preventing him from having “ a reasonable chance of winning the election.
” So far , Trump and his allies have struggled to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ litigation they ’ ve already mounted .

If current trends hold, former Vice President Joe Biden is on track to win the White House with 306 electoral votes — a not particularly close presidential election.
But when the relative tightness of the race in individual states is combined with the particularities of their recount procedures, we could see a scenario where a projected Joe Biden victory will be followed by multiple states recounting their ballots.
Multiple recounts should not, by themselves, be construed as a signal that the overall election result is likely to overturned – no matter what President Trump might claim. Because of the way recount rules work, some states could go into recounts even if their margin are not close enough to plausibly put them in Trump’s column. Meanwhile, the states where a recount could decide who gets those particular electoral votes aren’t the ones that Biden is relying on to carry him to 270.
Here’s a state-by-state look at the dynamics at play:
Georgia: Georgia’s election officials have already confirmed that the state is heading to a recount. Biden’s current lead is razor thin — 1,579 votes — and almost certain to remain within the .5 percentage point margin that triggers an an automatic recount under state law.
The good news for Biden is that there are many ways for him to win the White House at this point that won’t depend on Georgia. And most of those paths run through states where, even with recounts, the results are extremely unlikely to change. But Democrats will have to wait until late November, at least, to find out if they eked out a presidential win in the Peach State for the first time since 1992. That’s how long a top state elections official said on Friday that a recount would take.
Wisconsin: Trump’s campaign has already said that it will seek a recount in the Badger State, a totally legitimate request for the campaign to make. Wisconsin recount laws allow the candidates to request a recount when the margin is under 1 percent. The unofficial tabulation of the state’s votes shows Biden at .6 percentage points over Trump.
The problem for Trump is that he’s nonetheless well out of the range of the kind of vote changes Wisconsin recounts have historically produced. A recount of the 2016 presidential election — triggered by a Jill Stein request — changed the count by 131 votes. A 2011 recount of a state Supreme Court race swung about 300 votes. Biden is up by more than 20,000 votes.
The bigger question, perhaps, is whether the reportedly cash-strapped Trump campaign will really want to pay for the recount itself. Under state law, taxpayers only cover recounts where the margins are .25 percent or lower.
Arizona: There are no options in Arizona for candidates (or voters aligned with their campaigns) to request a recount. The only trigger is a close margin, which in a presidential contest, would require a race separated by just .1 percentage points. Given the number of ballots left still to count, Biden’s current 43,000 vote lead is still considered a close one. But the current margin is well outside that automatic trigger range, and Trump will have to significantly over-perform current expectations to narrow it sufficiently. Just as importantly, however, is that as long as Biden holds on to Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, losing Arizona won’t put him below 270 electoral votes.
Nevada: Biden’s narrow 22,000 vote Nevada lead is expected to widen as ballots from Democratic-leaning Clark County provide the bulk of what remains. But no matter where the final tally lands, with no automatic recount trigger under Nevada law, it will then fall on Trump or his allies to request a recount. And if they do, they’ll have to overcome some preliminary tests before a recount is conducted statewide. First they’ll get to chose a set of sample precincts that amount to 5 percent of the ballots cast, and a recount will happen there. Only if that recount shows a discrepancy from the original canvas of 1 percent of more can the candidate then ask for a statewide recount — but even then, it would still be within the secretary of state’s discretion whether to order such a recount to go forward.
Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania, like Georgia, has an automatic recount trigger for close races with margins of .5 percentage points or less. The current count is within the margin, but tens of thousands of mail ballots have yet to be counted, so Biden running up the score in the final stretch could put an automatic recount off the table. In that scenario, the possibility of a recount would then depend on voters initiating such a petition. They could file such a petition before individual county boards, or in court. But, as the Stein’s 2016 failed bid for a full Pennsylvania recount showed, this scattershot approach is complicated and costly when it comes to getting a recount statewide.
It seems possible, given Trump’s pattern so far zeroing in on Pennsylvania, we could see such an effort mounted. But current trends don’t suggest that Pennsylvania will be so close that a recount will change the results, and as as long as Arizona and Nevada remain in Biden’s column, Biden’s path to 270 won’t depend on Pennsylvania, anyway.
Michigan: Trump is well outside the close-margin range (2,000 votes or less) that would trigger an automatic recount under Michigan state law. The only other scenario, per state law, where Trump could get a recount is one where he was able to put forth a “good-faith” allegation that there had been “fraud or mistake” that was preventing him from having “a reasonable chance of winning the election.” So far, Trump and his allies have struggled to find any such evidence in the election litigation they’ve already mounted.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-11-06--Top GOPers Egg On Trump’s Insane Election Lies With Two-Faced Statements

Powerful Republican politicians on Thursday and Friday egged on President Donald Trump ’ s insane lies that simply counting votes was actually election theft .
With vague statements that left plenty of room for Trump ’ s baseless claims of widespread fraud and violations of vote-counting procedures , Republicans contributed to his effort to undermine faith in the election ’ s results .
The statements came after Trump ’ s children had a public outburst of frustration that more mainstream Republicans weren ’ t helping their father .
There ’ s no evidence at all to suggest that there was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ effort by elections officials to exclude Republican poll watchers from the counting process in various states .
But the top elected Republicans in the House and Senate implied that , actually , Trump could be onto something with his false claims .
In an interview with Fox News ’ Laura Ingraham Thursday night , House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy ( R-CA ) pointed to the fact that incumbent House Republicans actually had a good night on Tuesday , holding on to existing seats — which , paradoxically , he said “ shows more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ President Trump lose in an atmosphere like that ?
” he asked rhetorically .
“ President Trump won this election , ” McCarthy lied later in the interview , before urging supporters to make noise about… something , though he didn ’ t specify what .
“ So everyone who ’ s listening , do not be quiet , ” McCarthy said .
“ Do not be silent about this .
We can not allow this to happen before our very eyes .
We need to unite together .
And you don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If you believe [ that ] every legal vote needs to count , if you believe in the American process , join together and we can stop this.
” He was hardly alone .
Sen. Lindsey Graham ( R-SC ) acknowledged to Fox News ’ Sean Hannity that Republican legislators in Pennsylvania could simply ignore the election results and award the state ’ s electoral votes to Donald Trump .
“ I think everything should be on the table , ” Graham said .
“ Philadelphia elections are as crooked as a snake.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s show , Sen. Ted Cruz ( R-TX ) falsely said “ they ’ re not allowing the election observers in ” in Philadelphia .
“ The reason you don ’ t want observers there is because you ’ re doing something you don ’ t want to be observed , ” he said , adding : “ They are setting the stage to potentially steal an election.
” “ We need the Department of Justice in there to enforce the law , ” Cruz said .
Some Republicans were a bit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gingrich , for example , suggested that federal agents seize legally cast ballots .
And the new senator-elect in Alabama , former college football coach Tommy Tuberville , seemed to miss entirely what the fake scandal was that he was supposed to be pushing .
Tuberville , rather than focusing on false talking points about fraud or election monitoring , compared the election in which legally cast votes are still being counted to a football game where time has run out .
“ The American people deserve transparency and to know the integrity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said , after saying it was wrong to count ballots .

Powerful Republican politicians on Thursday and Friday egged on President Donald Trump’s insane lies that simply counting votes was actually election theft.
With vague statements that left plenty of room for Trump’s baseless claims of widespread fraud and violations of vote-counting procedures, Republicans contributed to his effort to undermine faith in the election’s results. The statements came after Trump’s children had a public outburst of frustration that more mainstream Republicans weren’t helping their father.
There’s no evidence at all to suggest that there was widespread voter fraud or any kind of effort by elections officials to exclude Republican poll watchers from the counting process in various states. But the top elected Republicans in the House and Senate implied that, actually, Trump could be onto something with his false claims.
Here’s how this must work in our great country: Every legal vote should be counted. Any illegally-submitted ballots must not. All sides must get to observe the process. And the courts are here to apply the laws & resolve disputes. That's how Americans' votes decide the result. — Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) November 6, 2020
Joe Biden wants to “count every vote.” President @realDonaldTrump wants to count every ????? vote. There’s a big difference. — Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) November 5, 2020
In an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham Thursday night, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) pointed to the fact that incumbent House Republicans actually had a good night on Tuesday, holding on to existing seats — which, paradoxically, he said “shows more of the fraud.”
“How would President Trump lose in an atmosphere like that?” he asked rhetorically.
“President Trump won this election,” McCarthy lied later in the interview, before urging supporters to make noise about… something, though he didn’t specify what.
“So everyone who’s listening, do not be quiet,” McCarthy said. “Do not be silent about this. We cannot allow this to happen before our very eyes. We need to unite together. And you don’t need to be a Republican. If you believe [that] every legal vote needs to count, if you believe in the American process, join together and we can stop this.”
Republicans will not be silenced. We demand transparency. We demand accuracy. And we demand that the legal votes be protected. pic.twitter.com/1RZbzEOSfH — Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) November 6, 2020
He was hardly alone.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) acknowledged to Fox News’ Sean Hannity that Republican legislators in Pennsylvania could simply ignore the election results and award the state’s electoral votes to Donald Trump.
“I think everything should be on the table,” Graham said. “Philadelphia elections are as crooked as a snake.”
“Everything should be on the table” — Lindsey Graham won’t rule out that Republican legislatures should invalidate the election results and (presumably) award their electoral votes to Trump pic.twitter.com/ykNdFCicZW — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 6, 2020
Appearing right after Graham on Hannity’s show, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) falsely said “they’re not allowing the election observers in” in Philadelphia.
“The reason you don’t want observers there is because you’re doing something you don’t want to be observed,” he said, adding: “They are setting the stage to potentially steal an election.”
“We need the Department of Justice in there to enforce the law,” Cruz said.
Some Republicans were a bit more explicit. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, for example, suggested that federal agents seize legally cast ballots.
Newt Gingrich comes out in favor of seizing ballots. pic.twitter.com/KeX91LFfpy — Matt Shuham (@mattshuham) November 6, 2020
And the new senator-elect in Alabama, former college football coach Tommy Tuberville, seemed to miss entirely what the fake scandal was that he was supposed to be pushing.
Tuberville, rather than focusing on false talking points about fraud or election monitoring, compared the election in which legally cast votes are still being counted to a football game where time has run out.
“The American people deserve transparency and to know the integrity of our votes are preserved,” he said, after saying it was wrong to count ballots.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-11-07--Biden Touts Lead And Claims Voter Mandate, But Doesn’t Declare Full Victory

Former Vice President Joe Biden stopped just short of declaring himself the winner of the presidential election , but expressed confidence that his victory was inevitable , given the current trends in vote count .
“ The numbers tell a clear and convincing story .
We ’ re going to win this race , ” Biden said in a Friday night speech from Wilmington , as the third day since polls closed drew to an end .
He touted leads he had secured in Arizona and Georgia — both states , he noted , where he was behind just 24 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to be the first Democrat to win in Arizona in 24 years .
We ’ re going to be the first Democrat to win Georgia in 28 years , ” Biden said , “ And we ’ ve rebuilt the blue wall in the middle of the country that crumbled just four years ago — Pennsylvania , Michigan , Wisconsin , the heartland of this nation.
” While showing no doubts about where the race was heading , he urged patience as the tallies continued to trickled in .
“ I know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ very slow , and as slow as it goes , it can be numbering , ” Biden said .
“ But never forget , the tallies aren ’ t just numbers .
They represent votes and voters .
Men and women who exercise their fundamental right to have their voice heard.
” “ They ’ ve given us a mandate for action on COVID , the economy , climate change , systemic racism , ” he said .
More than just giving his supporters an update on the state of play , Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ road ahead if and when he is officially declared the winner .
Bringing up the COVID-19 response meetings he and his vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris ( D-CA ) participated in on Thursday , Biden said that he wanted “ everyone to know on day one we ’ re going to put our plan to control this virus into action.
” Notably he sought to only implicitly push back on President Trump ’ s baseless allegations that something was amiss in the election — Biden did not mention Trump by name once @ @ @ @ @ @ @ themes that drove his campaign message — a desire to patch the divides of the country , to tone down the vitriol in the political discourse , and to “ put the anger and demonization behind us.
” “ The purpose of our politics , the work of the nation , isn ’ t to fan the flames of conflict but to solve problems , ” Biden said .
He capped off the speech with a promise to his supporters the he hoped to be speaking with them again on Saturday .

Former Vice President Joe Biden stopped just short of declaring himself the winner of the presidential election, but expressed confidence that his victory was inevitable, given the current trends in vote count.
“The numbers tell a clear and convincing story. We’re going to win this race,” Biden said in a Friday night speech from Wilmington, as the third day since polls closed drew to an end.
He touted leads he had secured in Arizona and Georgia — both states, he noted, where he was behind just 24 hours ago.
“We’re going to be the first Democrat to win in Arizona in 24 years. We’re going to be the first Democrat to win Georgia in 28 years,” Biden said, “And we’ve rebuilt the blue wall in the middle of the country that crumbled just four years ago — Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, the heartland of this nation.”
While showing no doubts about where the race was heading, he urged patience as the tallies continued to trickled in.
“I know watching these vote tallies on TV moves very slow, and as slow as it goes, it can be numbering,” Biden said. “But never forget, the tallies aren’t just numbers. They represent votes and voters. Men and women who exercise their fundamental right to have their voice heard.”
“They’ve given us a mandate for action on COVID, the economy, climate change, systemic racism,” he said.
"They've given us a mandate for action on COVID, climate change, systemic racism, the economy. They want the country to come together, not continue to pull apart. The people spoke. More than 74 million Americans, and they spoke loudly for our ticket." pic.twitter.com/vIlTsi4o5z — TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) November 7, 2020
More than just giving his supporters an update on the state of play, Biden sought to signal his pivot towards the road ahead if and when he is officially declared the winner. Bringing up the COVID-19 response meetings he and his vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) participated in on Thursday, Biden said that he wanted “everyone to know on day one we’re going to put our plan to control this virus into action.”
Notably he sought to only implicitly push back on President Trump’s baseless allegations that something was amiss in the election — Biden did not mention Trump by name once.
Rather, Biden hit on the themes that drove his campaign message — a desire to patch the divides of the country, to tone down the vitriol in the political discourse, and to “put the anger and demonization behind us.”
“The purpose of our politics, the work of the nation, isn’t to fan the flames of conflict but to solve problems,” Biden said.
He capped off the speech with a promise to his supporters the he hoped to be speaking with them again on Saturday.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-11-08--Harris Emphasizes Her History-Making Moment In Victory Speech

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris , the first woman and first woman of color to be elected as vice president , highlighted her historic trajectory to the White House during remarks delivered Saturday evening outside the Chase Center in Wilmington , Delaware .
Taking the stage dressed in suffragette white , Harris kicked off her remarks opening for President-elect Joe Biden with a quote from the late Rep. John Lewis — a civil rights icon who died earlier this year — saying “ Democracy is not a state , it ’ s an act.
” “ Protecting our democracy takes struggle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is joy in it and there is progress , ” Harris said .
Contrasting Trump ’ s baseless allegations that Democrats are out to “ STEAL ” the election , Harris also thanked poll workers who have been tirelessly counting ballots during the COVID-19 pandemic that spurred a surge of mail-in ballots amid record-setting voter turnout .
“ Our nation owes you a debt of gratitude , ” Harris said .
“ You have protected the integrity of our democracy.
” Harris praised Biden — whose incoming return to the White House she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ hope and unity , decency , science and , yes , truth ” — as “ a healer , a uniter , a tested and steady hand.
” Harris then pointed to the president-elect ’ s experience with loss and how it “ gives him a sense of purpose that will help us as a nation reclaim our own sense of purpose.
” Harris nodded to her late mother , Shyamalan Gopalan , who immigrated from India at age 19 and “ maybe didn ’ t quite imagine this moment , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the White House will impact generations of women .
Harris segued into shouting out the many women who paved the way for her to hold office in the White House .
Touting that it ’ s a “ testament to Joe ’ s character that he has the audacity to break one of the most substantial barriers that exists ” in the country by choosing a woman as his VP , Harris applauded the women “ who fought and sacrificed so much for equality and liberty and justice for all , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ often , too often overlooked but so often proven they are the backbone of our democracy.
” “ While I may be the first woman in this office , I will not be the last , ” Harris said to cheers .
Harris concluded her remarks by vowing to be a “ vice president like Joe was to President Obama ” who is “ loyal , honest and prepared.
” “ And the road ahead will not be easy , but America is ready , and so are Joe and I , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a president who represents the best in us .
”

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, the first woman and first woman of color to be elected as vice president, highlighted her historic trajectory to the White House during remarks delivered Saturday evening outside the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware.
Taking the stage dressed in suffragette white, Harris kicked off her remarks opening for President-elect Joe Biden with a quote from the late Rep. John Lewis — a civil rights icon who died earlier this year — saying “Democracy is not a state, it’s an act.”
“Protecting our democracy takes struggle. It takes sacrifice. But there is joy in it and there is progress,” Harris said.
Contrasting Trump’s baseless allegations that Democrats are out to “STEAL” the election, Harris also thanked poll workers who have been tirelessly counting ballots during the COVID-19 pandemic that spurred a surge of mail-in ballots amid record-setting voter turnout.
“Our nation owes you a debt of gratitude,” Harris said. “You have protected the integrity of our democracy.”
Harris praised Biden — whose incoming return to the White House she described as a choice by voters for “hope and unity, decency, science and, yes, truth” — as “a healer, a uniter, a tested and steady hand.”
Harris then pointed to the president-elect’s experience with loss and how it “gives him a sense of purpose that will help us as a nation reclaim our own sense of purpose.”
Harris nodded to her late mother, Shyamalan Gopalan, who immigrated from India at age 19 and “maybe didn’t quite imagine this moment,” as she reflected on how her elevation to the White House will impact generations of women.
Harris segued into shouting out the many women who paved the way for her to hold office in the White House.
Touting that it’s a “testament to Joe’s character that he has the audacity to break one of the most substantial barriers that exists” in the country by choosing a woman as his VP, Harris applauded the women “who fought and sacrificed so much for equality and liberty and justice for all,” especially “the Black women who are often, too often overlooked but so often proven they are the backbone of our democracy.”
“While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last,” Harris said to cheers.
Harris concluded her remarks by vowing to be a “vice president like Joe was to President Obama” who is “loyal, honest and prepared.”
“And the road ahead will not be easy, but America is ready, and so are Joe and I,” Harris said. “We have elected a president who represents the best in us.”


talkingpointsmemo--2020-11-07--I’ll Never Let Go, Jack! Faced With Trump Defeat, Some GOPers Vow Election Probes

Faced with the tough reality that President Trump has lost the election , some Republicans are responding the only way they know how : with promises of investigations .
In the days since Michigan and Wisconsin firmed up their ballot counts enough to signal that their electoral college votes would be going to Joe Biden , Republican lawmakers in both states laid groundwork to probe the administration of those elections , which ran remarkably smoothly despite the serious challenges the pandemic posed .
The campaign of Sen. Lindsay Graham ( R-SC ) — a top Trump congressional ally who , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has previously launched investigations that benefit the President politically — put out a statement Saturday hours after Biden ’ s victory was projected , in which the senator promised that “ all credible allegations of voting irregularities and misconduct will be taken seriously.
” With it , the campaign released an affidavit from a postal worker who claimed that he had been instructed to backdate the postmarks of ballots being delivered after Election Day , so it would appear that they had been submitted on Nov. 3 .
Regardless of the veracity of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ballots will have no effect on the outcome of the presidential race — as any mail ballot that didn ’ t arrive at election offices by Tuesday is already being segregated from the main tally .
In the days since the tallying of ballots indicated that Biden was on track to a victory , Trump allies have scrambled to find evidence of impropriety to bolster the President ’ s false claim that the election is being stolen from him .
The contrived allegations that they have been putting forward have largely been laughed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ win ” the President ’ s team has secured in their post-election litigation was a court order that their poll watchers be allowed to observe the canvassing from a closer distance .
But the Trump ’ s team inability to grasp even the flimsiest of straws has not discouraged Republicans in Michigan and Wisconsin — two Trump 2016 states that flipped to Biden in 2020 — from previewing their desires to gin up fake accusations of fraud .
Michigan Republicans called a rare Saturday legislative committee meeting — which they put on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ declared the victor of the national presidential race — to approve subpoenas for various elections records .
Likewise , a top Wisconsin Republican on Friday evening announced an investigation into the election there .
The statement from Assembly Speaker Robin Vos directed the relevant committee use its investigatory powers to review “ how the election was administered.
” Incredibly , given all the ways the pandemic scrambled election preparations , vote-casting occurred across the country without any major fiascos or issues of concern .
The fact that it ’ s taken several days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states is a product of the refusal of those states ’ GOP legislatures — including in Wisconsin and Michigan — to push up the timeline for absentee ballot processing , the way it ’ s done in states with more experience with vote-by-mail .
Vos , in his statement , shamelessly suggested that the slow count was an issue that should be looked into , as he encouraged the committee to investigate “ the inefficiency of Milwaukee ’ s central counting of absentee ballots .
”

Faced with the tough reality that President Trump has lost the election, some Republicans are responding the only way they know how: with promises of investigations.
In the days since Michigan and Wisconsin firmed up their ballot counts enough to signal that their electoral college votes would be going to Joe Biden, Republican lawmakers in both states laid groundwork to probe the administration of those elections, which ran remarkably smoothly despite the serious challenges the pandemic posed.
The campaign of Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) — a top Trump congressional ally who, as chair of Senate Judiciary Committee, has previously launched investigations that benefit the President politically — put out a statement Saturday hours after Biden’s victory was projected, in which the senator promised that “all credible allegations of voting irregularities and misconduct will be taken seriously.”
With it, the campaign released an affidavit from a postal worker who claimed that he had been instructed to backdate the postmarks of ballots being delivered after Election Day, so it would appear that they had been submitted on Nov. 3. Regardless of the veracity of the person’s claims, those ballots will have no effect on the outcome of the presidential race — as any mail ballot that didn’t arrive at election offices by Tuesday is already being segregated from the main tally.
In the days since the tallying of ballots indicated that Biden was on track to a victory, Trump allies have scrambled to find evidence of impropriety to bolster the President’s false claim that the election is being stolen from him. The contrived allegations that they have been putting forward have largely been laughed out of court; the only legal “win” the President’s team has secured in their post-election litigation was a court order that their poll watchers be allowed to observe the canvassing from a closer distance.
But the Trump’s team inability to grasp even the flimsiest of straws has not discouraged Republicans in Michigan and Wisconsin — two Trump 2016 states that flipped to Biden in 2020 — from previewing their desires to gin up fake accusations of fraud.
Michigan Republicans called a rare Saturday legislative committee meeting — which they put on the schedule even before Biden has been declared the victor of the national presidential race — to approve subpoenas for various elections records.
Likewise, a top Wisconsin Republican on Friday evening announced an investigation into the election there. The statement from Assembly Speaker Robin Vos directed the relevant committee use its investigatory powers to review “how the election was administered.”
Incredibly, given all the ways the pandemic scrambled election preparations, vote-casting occurred across the country without any major fiascos or issues of concern. The fact that it’s taken several days to finish the count in some key states is a product of the refusal of those states’ GOP legislatures — including in Wisconsin and Michigan — to push up the timeline for absentee ballot processing, the way it’s done in states with more experience with vote-by-mail.
Vos, in his statement, shamelessly suggested that the slow count was an issue that should be looked into, as he encouraged the committee to investigate “the inefficiency of Milwaukee’s central counting of absentee ballots.”


talkingpointsmemo--2020-11-07--Jubilance In The Streets: America Erupts In Celebration After Trump’s Loss

It ’ s finally over .
President Donald Trump is done .
Finished .
Out .
Expired .
Old news .
And after four years of enduring the ceaseless neglect , corruption , and cruelty of a self-obsessed real estate developer with little interest in improving people ’ s lives , America is ready to pop bottles .
It started with vague honks in the streets — a not uncommon staple of reality in some of America ’ s largest cities .
Then there were the shouts , cheers , cowbells , whistles and a lot more honking .
Chants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like !
” Pots clanking , people hollering , music blaring .
Several members of the TPM staff who weren ’ t online late Saturday morning when the news broke were alerted to Vice President Joe Biden ’ s win by the jubilance and dancing and shouting we heard from the streets .
The scene outside the White House was triumphantly chaotic , clogged with people young and old , peppered with many Biden-Harris supporting dogs .
There were portable speakers blasting music from backpacks and pockets .
Cheers erupted every few minutes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ clean out the White House ” and “ you ’ re fired !
” In Brooklyn and Manhattan the scene was similar , with massive celebrations in Washington Square Park and Times Square , all bookended by spontaneous dancing and celebrations in blue neighborhoods across all four boroughs .
One roisterer sporting an American flag told TPM ’ s Matt Shuham that Biden ’ s win , but , moreso , Trump ’ s loss , felt like a “ reset ” for decency in America .
The celebration spilled out into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sigh of relief from sea to shining sea .
Here ’ s what we ’ re seeing right now in the cities , including the ones Trump relentlessly bashed as dilapidated , crime-infested hellholes as part of his charade as a “ law and order ” president :

It’s finally over. President Donald Trump is done. Finished. Out. Expired. Old news.
And after four years of enduring the ceaseless neglect, corruption, and cruelty of a self-obsessed real estate developer with little interest in improving people’s lives, America is ready to pop bottles.
It started with vague honks in the streets — a not uncommon staple of reality in some of America’s largest cities.
Then there were the shouts, cheers, cowbells, whistles and a lot more honking. Chants of “this is what democracy looks like!” Pots clanking, people hollering, music blaring. Several members of the TPM staff who weren’t online late Saturday morning when the news broke were alerted to Vice President Joe Biden’s win by the jubilance and dancing and shouting we heard from the streets.
Even before checking my phone, learned of the call from my street in DC EXPLODING in jubilation. Every few moments, cheers break out anew accompanied by swells of honking. One woman walking down the sidewalk: "oh THANK GOD" — Kate Riga (@Kate_Riga24) November 7, 2020
The scene outside the White House was triumphantly chaotic, clogged with people young and old, peppered with many Biden-Harris supporting dogs. There were portable speakers blasting music from backpacks and pockets. Cheers erupted every few minutes and those gathered clutched hastily-made signs proclaiming “clean out the White House” and “you’re fired!”
In Brooklyn and Manhattan the scene was similar, with massive celebrations in Washington Square Park and Times Square, all bookended by spontaneous dancing and celebrations in blue neighborhoods across all four boroughs. One roisterer sporting an American flag told TPM’s Matt Shuham that Biden’s win, but, moreso, Trump’s loss, felt like a “reset” for decency in America.
The celebration spilled out into the streets across the country — a sigh of relief from sea to shining sea.
Here’s what we’re seeing right now in the cities, including the ones Trump relentlessly bashed as dilapidated, crime-infested hellholes as part of his charade as a “law and order” president:
Outside my little sister’s apartment window in Chicago right now pic.twitter.com/vKZr1RL7lh — Dana Schwartz (@DanaSchwartzzz) November 7, 2020
Hello from Minneapolis right now, in front of the police department’s 3rd Precinct, which was burned down following the police killing of George Floyd. pic.twitter.com/9qJ7fdo3OQ — Tony Webster (@webster) November 7, 2020
More Atlanta celebrations ? pic.twitter.com/HqBaYF5eum — Nassim Parvin, PhD (@NassimParvin) November 7, 2020


talkingpointsmemo--2020-11-07--Some Hill Republicans — *Some* — Show Willingness To Accept Trump Loss

While the vast majority of congressional Republicans are staying mum on the news of former Vice President Joe Biden ’ @ @ @ @ @ least a few are stepping into the breach and acknowledge that President Trump lost his @ @ @ @ @ ( R-UT ) , who voted in favor of convicting Trump in the impeachment proceeding @ @ @ @ @ a straight forward message of congratulations to President-elect Biden .
Rep. Fred Upton ( R-MI @ @ @ @ @ increasingly purple district , tweeted a commitment to work with the incoming Biden administration .
@ @ @ @ @ short of directly addressing reality .
Sen. Lamar Alexander ( R-TX ) — who has @ @ @ @ @ institutionalist and is retiring at the end of this term — just vaguely referenced the @ @ @ @ @ ing ] and promptly accept [ ing ] the result .
”

While the vast majority of congressional Republicans are staying mum on the news of former Vice President Joe Biden’s projected victory, at least a few are stepping into the breach and acknowledge that President Trump lost his re-election.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), who voted in favor of convicting Trump in the impeachment proceeding earlier this year, tweeted a straight forward message of congratulations to President-elect Biden.
Ann and I extend our congratulations to President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. We know both of them as people of good will and admirable character. We pray that God may bless them in the days and years ahead. — Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) November 7, 2020
Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), who represents an increasingly purple district, tweeted a commitment to work with the incoming Biden administration.
We have to find a way to come together, bridge divisions, and focus on solutions that help the millions who are struggling. I am raising my hand and committing to working with President-elect Biden and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in Congress to do exactly that. pic.twitter.com/EXWLWKmBdp — Fred Upton #WearYourMask (@RepFredUpton) November 7, 2020
But other congressional Republicans stopped short of directly addressing reality.
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TX)— who has a reputation for being an institutionalist and is retiring at the end of this term — just vaguely referenced the importance of “respect[ing] and promptly accept[ing] the result.”


talkingpointsmemo--2020-11-07--Goodbye And Good Riddance: Trump Consigned To One-Term Presidency

President Donald Trump will go down in history as a one-term president .
With the news that the former Vice President Joe Biden has clinched the the crucial electoral votes in Pennsylvania — combined with the Biden victories in Michigan and Wisconsin , reversals from 2016 —Trump will not have the electoral votes necessary to secure a second term in office .
The call for Biden followed a multi-day ballot-counting process in the states that put Biden over the top .
Early trends coming out of Election Day showed Biden underperforming with key demographics , which let Trump hold on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against Hillary Clinton , while maintaining or even increasing his margins in delegate-rich states like Florida and Ohio .
A key Biden victory in Arizona on Tuesday night expanded the Democrat ’ s lead and provided some breathing room .
The days that followed saw the counting of Democratic-dominated mail-in ballots , allowing Biden ’ s raw tallies to slowly overcome Trump Election Day advantages in Michigan , Wisconsin and Pennsylvania .
However , that counting process was punctuated with false attacks by Trump and his allies , claiming baselessly that the election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to “ stop the count , ” Biden urged patience until every vote was tabulated .
The election brings an end to the Trump presidency , which featured an unprecedented hijacking of the U.S. government for the furthering of the former reality TV star ’ s personal whims .
From the moment he announced his presidential candidacy in 2015 , Trump dominated the political discourse with a toxic mix of xenophobia , vindictiveness and brute callousness .
He transformed the federal bureaucracy into a clearinghouse of corruption for his allies , wielded the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ implemented policies designed to entrench white minority rule , and was impeached by the House for his attempts to use U.S. foreign policy to dig up dirt on his 2020 opponent .
The euphoria of Trump critics across the country had a bittersweet quality for the former longtime government officials who left the administration because they were so disturbed by Trump and his cronies ’ behavior .
In interviews with TPM , they described feeling both relief that voters had brought the Trump era to an end , but also a recognition of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ repair the breach in the public trust the last four years brought .
Trump ’ s disregard for the norms and guardrails designed to protect the public interest culminated with his administration ’ s bungled response to the COVID-19 pandemic , which was punctuated by his own bout with the virus and his frequent demands that Americans not be so focused on the crisis ’ casualties .
The final stretch of the campaign was marked by an outright subversion of democracy writ-large , as the President vowed to go to the Supreme Court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of his justices — to end the counting to validly cast votes .
On election night , in a speech delivered from the White House , he falsely said he ’ d won the election , and that any further tallying of ballots was actually an attempt to steal the presidency from him .
Trump held onto the message even when stopping the count would have left Biden in the lead , and on Thursday night , in White House remarks , he promised a “ a lot of litigation , ” while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the legal votes , I win very easily.
” But Trump ’ s campaign did not get very far in the legal fights against the counting of ballots that were tilting against him .
And a Biden campaign message that focused explicitly on a return to normalcy and an end to the divisiveness that defined the Trump era appears to have resonated with suburban voters , who helped deliver the White House to the former vice president .
“ It ’ s time for Donald Trump to pack his bags and go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign event in Pittsburgh on Monday night .
“ I honest-to-God believe that the vast majority of Americans are done with the chaos , the corruption , the failure , the irresponsibility , the indifference to American lives , the indifference to America ’ s dignity.
” Biden ’ s top surrogates — including the former President whose legacy Trump has been dead set on dismantling — framed his candidacy as a promise that a Biden administration wouldn ’ t occupy the daily American psyche the way that Trump has .
“ With @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not going to have to think about them every single day , ” Barack Obama said at a campaign event Monday night .
“ You ’ re not going to have to argue about some crazy tweet that the President sent out this morning .
It won ’ t be so exhausting .
You ’ ll be able to go about your lives knowing that the president is doing his job , instead of suggesting we inject bleach , [ or ] that the President ’ s not going to retweet conspiracy theories @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actually kill bin Laden.
” Trump ’ s chaotic and all-consuming stranglehold on the federal government began in the early days of his presidency , when he followed through on a 2016 campaign promise to prohibit Muslims from immigrating into United States .
The proposal was put into place in the form of sloppily-assembled ban on travel from certain Muslim-majority countries — a policy that still exists today , though watered down after several court fights .
“ We were blindsided !
” Mary McCord , then the top national security official at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ It was obviously precooked .
There was no discussion among the national security officials and experts about whether this action was justified by national security concerns.
” Announced just a week after the President ’ s inauguration , the ban set the tone for the administration ’ s willingness to cut career experts out of major initiatives , many of them aimed at inflicting cruelty and chaos on people of color .
McCord left the administration a few months later .
Biden ’ s election , she said , was a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Department of Justice , and the politicization of really all of the executive branch agencies , has made it very , very difficult for career attorneys , career civil servants to feel like they could , in good faith , ethically , morally do their jobs , ” McCord said .
By mid-2017 , the administration was piloting a program of systematically separating families who ’ d arrived at the southern border , including those seeking asylum .
Though a federal judge put a stop to the program in 2018 , hundreds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
A former career official at the Department of Homeland Security — who asked not to be named out of deference to his current employer — called child separation the “ the single least popular thing ” the administration did .
“ Almost nothing Trump did ever had a majority support , ” the former official noted .
“ The whole time , this has never felt like somebody grappling with what would be a position on policy that would be good for the country and popular , ” the former official added @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there ’ s ever been anything like this in American history of an entire administration that was more built around ‘ owning the libs ’ than accomplishing anything .
It ’ s just been brutal.
” All throughout the federal bureaucracy , civil servants were caught off guard by Trump ’ s blitzkrieg attempts at what his old campaign chairman Steve Bannon once called “ deconstructing the administrative state.
” “ In some respects , it ’ s been four years wasted on just one attention-grabbing event after another , ” said Rod @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who resigned from the Trump administration in July last year after the White House censored his testimony on climate change .
On issues like climate and the government ’ s COVID-19 response , Schoonover said , the Trump administration wasted its time with “ reality bending ” and ignoring science .
“ There have been a lot of newspaper articles written about misdeeds , abnormal behavior by various members of the current administration , ” he said .
“ They haven ’ t even scratched the surface.
” Like the Executive Branch , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Trump ’ s erratic behaviors , often captured on the President ’ s bombastic and paranoia-laden Twitter feed .
Rarely a day went by that Republican lawmakers weren ’ t peppered with questions about a recent and usually controversial comment by the President , be it his derision of “ shit hole ” countries , his praise for dictators or his suggestion that the 2020 election be delayed .
Legislative initiatives were frequently disrupted by the President ’ s announcement of unexpected and sometimes ( though not always ) false claims about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The 2017 tax bill and a criminal justice legislative overhaul that had bipartisan support that pre-dated Trump , were the only two major legislative legacies that will be left by his administration .
Under his presidency , Congress was more likely to be consumed by crises of the President ’ s own making , from the firing of FBI director James Comey to foreign policy fiascos that even angered some of Trump ’ s staunchest congressional supporters .
Former Sen. Jeff Flake ( R-AZ ) — who retired in 2019 after his criticisms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ standing untenable — labeled Trump the “ chaos president.
” Former Sen. Bob Corker ( R-TN ) who also ducked out of running for re-election in 2018 , once equated Trump ’ s tantrums to those of a toddler ’ s .
“ It ’ s a shame the White House has become an adult day care center , ” Corker infamously tweeted in 2017 .
“ Someone obviously missed their shift this morning.
” Amid the policy chaos , Trump and his allies perpetuated an enormous grift on American taxpayers .
Starting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ returns , as is customary for presidential candidates , Trump charged through all sorts of firewalls that are supposed to prevent the President from reaping personal financial benefits from the activities of his office The Trump Hotel he opened in 2016 just a few blocks from the White House became a hub for lobbyists , administration officials , foreign governments and corporations seeking to curry favor with the President .
Taxpayer funds similarly funneled through his various resort properties across the world , where Secret Service and presidential staff routinely slept , ate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tab .
Watching from the sidelines as the marathon 2020 election rolled by , some ex-officials like Schoonover rooted for a Biden victory even as they continued to tally the Trump administration ’ s damage .
For the physicist turned State Department official , the administration had spent four precious years moving backward on the effort to slow man-made climate change , time the plane could never get back .
Biden , he said , had to hit the ground running .
“ It ’ s going to take quite a long time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the degree of damage that ’ s been done , deep into the government , ” he said .

President Donald Trump will go down in history as a one-term president.
With the news that the former Vice President Joe Biden has clinched the the crucial electoral votes in Pennsylvania — combined with the Biden victories in Michigan and Wisconsin, reversals from 2016 —Trump will not have the electoral votes necessary to secure a second term in office.
The call for Biden followed a multi-day ballot-counting process in the states that put Biden over the top. Early trends coming out of Election Day showed Biden underperforming with key demographics, which let Trump hold on to crucial states from his 2016 upset against Hillary Clinton, while maintaining or even increasing his margins in delegate-rich states like Florida and Ohio.
A key Biden victory in Arizona on Tuesday night expanded the Democrat’s lead and provided some breathing room. The days that followed saw the counting of Democratic-dominated mail-in ballots, allowing Biden’s raw tallies to slowly overcome Trump Election Day advantages in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
However, that counting process was punctuated with false attacks by Trump and his allies, claiming baselessly that the election was somehow suspect. As Trump demanded to “stop the count,” Biden urged patience until every vote was tabulated.
The election brings an end to the Trump presidency, which featured an unprecedented hijacking of the U.S. government for the furthering of the former reality TV star’s personal whims.
From the moment he announced his presidential candidacy in 2015, Trump dominated the political discourse with a toxic mix of xenophobia, vindictiveness and brute callousness. He transformed the federal bureaucracy into a clearinghouse of corruption for his allies, wielded the Justice Department against his political enemies, implemented policies designed to entrench white minority rule, and was impeached by the House for his attempts to use U.S. foreign policy to dig up dirt on his 2020 opponent.
The euphoria of Trump critics across the country had a bittersweet quality for the former longtime government officials who left the administration because they were so disturbed by Trump and his cronies’ behavior. In interviews with TPM, they described feeling both relief that voters had brought the Trump era to an end, but also a recognition of the work that will be needed to repair the breach in the public trust the last four years brought.
Trump’s disregard for the norms and guardrails designed to protect the public interest culminated with his administration’s bungled response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was punctuated by his own bout with the virus and his frequent demands that Americans not be so focused on the crisis’ casualties.
The final stretch of the campaign was marked by an outright subversion of democracy writ-large, as the President vowed to go to the Supreme Court — whose bench was stacked with three of his justices — to end the counting to validly cast votes. On election night, in a speech delivered from the White House, he falsely said he’d won the election, and that any further tallying of ballots was actually an attempt to steal the presidency from him.
Trump held onto the message even when stopping the count would have left Biden in the lead, and on Thursday night, in White House remarks, he promised a “a lot of litigation,” while claiming falsely that if “you look at the legal votes, I win very easily.”
But Trump’s campaign did not get very far in the legal fights against the counting of ballots that were tilting against him. And a Biden campaign message that focused explicitly on a return to normalcy and an end to the divisiveness that defined the Trump era appears to have resonated with suburban voters, who helped deliver the White House to the former vice president.
“It’s time for Donald Trump to pack his bags and go home,” Biden said at a campaign event in Pittsburgh on Monday night. “I honest-to-God believe that the vast majority of Americans are done with the chaos, the corruption, the failure, the irresponsibility, the indifference to American lives, the indifference to America’s dignity.”
Biden’s top surrogates — including the former President whose legacy Trump has been dead set on dismantling — framed his candidacy as a promise that a Biden administration wouldn’t occupy the daily American psyche the way that Trump has.
“With Joe and Kamala, you’re not going to have to think about them every single day,” Barack Obama said at a campaign event Monday night.
“You’re not going to have to argue about some crazy tweet that the President sent out this morning. It won’t be so exhausting. You’ll be able to go about your lives knowing that the president is doing his job, instead of suggesting we inject bleach, [or] that the President’s not going to retweet conspiracy theories that the Navy SEALs didn’t actually kill bin Laden.”
Policy On A Whim
Trump’s chaotic and all-consuming stranglehold on the federal government began in the early days of his presidency, when he followed through on a 2016 campaign promise to prohibit Muslims from immigrating into United States. The proposal was put into place in the form of sloppily-assembled ban on travel from certain Muslim-majority countries — a policy that still exists today, though watered down after several court fights.
“We were blindsided!” Mary McCord, then the top national security official at the Justice Department, recalled to TPM. “It was obviously precooked. There was no discussion among the national security officials and experts about whether this action was justified by national security concerns.”
Announced just a week after the President’s inauguration, the ban set the tone for the administration’s willingness to cut career experts out of major initiatives, many of them aimed at inflicting cruelty and chaos on people of color.
McCord left the administration a few months later. Biden’s election, she said, was a “relief.”
“The politicization of the Department of Justice, and the politicization of really all of the executive branch agencies, has made it very, very difficult for career attorneys, career civil servants to feel like they could, in good faith, ethically, morally do their jobs,” McCord said.
By mid-2017, the administration was piloting a program of systematically separating families who’d arrived at the southern border, including those seeking asylum. Though a federal judge put a stop to the program in 2018, hundreds of children remain separated from their families.
A former career official at the Department of Homeland Security — who asked not to be named out of deference to his current employer — called child separation the “the single least popular thing” the administration did.
“Almost nothing Trump did ever had a majority support,” the former official noted.
“The whole time, this has never felt like somebody grappling with what would be a position on policy that would be good for the country and popular,” the former official added. “I don’t think there’s ever been anything like this in American history of an entire administration that was more built around ‘owning the libs’ than accomplishing anything. It’s just been brutal.”
All throughout the federal bureaucracy, civil servants were caught off guard by Trump’s blitzkrieg attempts at what his old campaign chairman Steve Bannon once called “deconstructing the administrative state.”
“In some respects, it’s been four years wasted on just one attention-grabbing event after another,” said Rod Schoonover, a State Department intelligence analyst who resigned from the Trump administration in July last year after the White House censored his testimony on climate change.
On issues like climate and the government’s COVID-19 response, Schoonover said, the Trump administration wasted its time with “reality bending” and ignoring science.
“There have been a lot of newspaper articles written about misdeeds, abnormal behavior by various members of the current administration,” he said. “They haven’t even scratched the surface.”
Congress Held Hostage
Like the Executive Branch, the halls of Congress were routinely commandeered by Trump’s erratic behaviors, often captured on the President’s bombastic and paranoia-laden Twitter feed.
Rarely a day went by that Republican lawmakers weren’t peppered with questions about a recent and usually controversial comment by the President, be it his derision of “shit hole” countries, his praise for dictators or his suggestion that the 2020 election be delayed. Legislative initiatives were frequently disrupted by the President’s announcement of unexpected and sometimes (though not always) false claims about proposals he previously signed on to.
The 2017 tax bill and a criminal justice legislative overhaul that had bipartisan support that pre-dated Trump, were the only two major legislative legacies that will be left by his administration.
Under his presidency, Congress was more likely to be consumed by crises of the President’s own making, from the firing of FBI director James Comey to foreign policy fiascos that even angered some of Trump’s staunchest congressional supporters.
Former Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) — who retired in 2019 after his criticisms of the President made his own political standing untenable — labeled Trump the “chaos president.”
Former Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) who also ducked out of running for re-election in 2018, once equated Trump’s tantrums to those of a toddler’s.
“It’s a shame the White House has become an adult day care center,” Corker infamously tweeted in 2017. “Someone obviously missed their shift this morning.”
Bilking Taxpayers
Amid the policy chaos, Trump and his allies perpetuated an enormous grift on American taxpayers.
Starting with his refusal to release his tax returns, as is customary for presidential candidates, Trump charged through all sorts of firewalls that are supposed to prevent the President from reaping personal financial benefits from the activities of his office
The Trump Hotel he opened in 2016 just a few blocks from the White House became a hub for lobbyists, administration officials, foreign governments and corporations seeking to curry favor with the President. Taxpayer funds similarly funneled through his various resort properties across the world, where Secret Service and presidential staff routinely slept, ate and drank on the public’s tab.
Watching from the sidelines as the marathon 2020 election rolled by, some ex-officials like Schoonover rooted for a Biden victory even as they continued to tally the Trump administration’s damage. For the physicist turned State Department official, the administration had spent four precious years moving backward on the effort to slow man-made climate change, time the plane could never get back. Biden, he said, had to hit the ground running.
“It’s going to take quite a long time for President-elect Biden to really fully understand the degree of damage that’s been done, deep into the government,” he said.
“We’re starting in a crater.”


talkingpointsmemo--2020-11-07--Trump Promised ‘Big’ Press Conference At The Four Seasons … Landscaping Office

President Donald Trump announced on Saturday morning a “ big press conference today in Philadelphia ” to be held by his legal team later in the day , which is likely to be another sideshow in his quest to invalidate the votes that will cost him the crucial swing state .
Pretty predictable ( yet no less alarming ) stuff at this point .
What people are having trouble wrapping their head around right now is the downright bizarre location Trump chose for the presser .
First , Trump tweeted that the press conference would be held at the Four @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Philly .
But he quickly corrected the record : “ Big press conference today in Philadelphia at Four Seasons Total Landscaping — 11:30am !
” the President tweeted .
So no , not the swanky Four Seasons hotel .
“ Four Seasons Total Landscaping , ” which is a landscaping company ’ s small office building in a drab industrial area of town .
The actual Four Seasons hotel wants to make sure you know that .
“ To clarify , President Trump ’ s press conference will NOT be held at Four @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tweeted .
“ It will be held at Four Seasons Total Landscaping— no relation with the hotel .
”

President Donald Trump announced on Saturday morning a “big press conference today in Philadelphia” to be held by his legal team later in the day, which is likely to be another sideshow in his quest to invalidate the votes that will cost him the crucial swing state. Pretty predictable (yet no less alarming) stuff at this point.
What people are having trouble wrapping their head around right now is the downright bizarre location Trump chose for the presser.
First, Trump tweeted that the press conference would be held at the Four Seasons, a swanky hotel in downtown Philly. But he quickly corrected the record:
“Big press conference today in Philadelphia at Four Seasons Total Landscaping — 11:30am!” the President tweeted.
So no, not the swanky Four Seasons hotel. “Four Seasons Total Landscaping,” which is a landscaping company’s small office building in a drab industrial area of town. The actual Four Seasons hotel wants to make sure you know that.
“To clarify, President Trump’s press conference will NOT be held at Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia,” the hotel tweeted. “It will be held at Four Seasons Total Landscaping— no relation with the hotel.”
Uh, what?
Turp's legal team is holding a press conference from a small landscaping company in the suburbs of Philadelphia, what the fuck is going on lol https://t.co/55VXd1qqU5 pic.twitter.com/q5LylR0GIZ — Rob DenBleyker (@RobDenBleyker) November 7, 2020
Just arrived at the location for the big news conference announced by President Trump.
Slightly surreal location… not the Four Seasons Hotel but a landscaping business in an industrial estate on edge of Philadelphia… more @SkyNews https://t.co/sUtAAN6n0D pic.twitter.com/u13mBFHFaS — Mark Stone (@Stone_SkyNews) November 7, 2020
"Set up a press conference at the Four Seasons." "The luxury hotel or the landscaping store?" "Eh, either one." https://t.co/Tx2nHSBGYs — Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) November 7, 2020
Four Seasons // Four Seasons Landscaping pic.twitter.com/v0ekd6A6VR — Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) November 7, 2020
the switcheroo from the four seasons hotel to “four seasons total landscaping” feels like an metaphor for the president’s standing in the Pa tally as the week has progressed https://t.co/lkCTtWguge — Justin Sink (@justinsink) November 7, 2020
What? How did you score that venue? When I played Carnegie Hall, I’m not gonna lie. The whole time I was on stage I was thinking, this is great but goddamnit I wish I was playing the Philadelphia Four Seasons TOTAL LANDSCAPING. ? https://t.co/Sw6KOsODcc — Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) November 7, 2020
No one answered the phone at Four Seasons Total Landscaping. But oh man RIP their online reviews. pic.twitter.com/LvxNd9VO1b — Colby Itkowitz (@ColbyItkowitz) November 7, 2020
Big press conference today in Philadelphia at Four Sons Pizza – 11:45am! https://t.co/ENx2LLcba3 — Todd Zwillich (@toddzwillich) November 7, 2020
Trump’s Four Seasons press conference. pic.twitter.com/wEzWbMFHUi — drew olanoff (@yoda) November 7, 2020
I NEED YOU TO PRETEND YOU WORK AT FOUR SEASONS TOTAL LANDSCAPING pic.twitter.com/zIiZkohWxX — hend amry (@LibyaLiberty) November 7, 2020


talkingpointsmemo--2020-11-08--A Victorious Biden Pivots To Governing A Divided Nation: ‘This Is The Time To Heal’

President-elect Joe Biden , in his first speech after being declared the winner of the 2020 presidential race , said that responding to the COVID-19 pandemic would be a top priority when he enters office and challenged legislators in the divided government he will likely be managing to try to work together .
“ This is part of the mandate given to us from the American people , ” Biden said , as he touted the record-breaking 74 million Americans ( and counting ) who cast ballots in his favor .
“ They want us to cooperate in their interest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ ll make , ” Biden said , “ And I ’ ll call on Congress , Democrats and Republicans alike , to make that choice with me.
” Despite the grave challenges he faces as he enters office , Biden ’ s victory speech struck an optimistic tone , quoting Bible verses and falling back on Bidenisms that are familiar to anyone who ’ s followed his half-century in public life .
It did not include any direct attacks on President Trump .
The current president ’ s name only was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ’ s supporters .
“ The grim era of demonization in America , ” Biden said , could “ begin to end here and now.
” “ It ’ s time to put away the harsh rhetoric , lower the temperature , see each other again .
Listen to each other again .
And to make progress , we have to stop treating our opponents as our enemies .
They are not our enemies .
They are Americans , ” Biden said .
“ The Bible tells us , To everything there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ build , a time to reap and a time to sow and a time to heal .
This is the time to heal in America !
” In the more somber moments of Biden ’ s speech , he addressed how the COVID-19 outbreak has ravaged American society , speaking directly to those who lost loved ones among the 230,000 who have died of the virus .
He assured them that his heart “ goes out to each and every one of you ” while offering them a Bible hymn for solace .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic that would reckon directly with the reality that , without the virus contained , it would be impossible to “ repair the economy , restore our vitality or relish life ’ s most precious moments.
” He announced that next week he ’ d be naming a slate of advisors to help him flesh out his COVID-19 response .
He said that , in electing him , voters had called for an America that marshaled “ the forces of decency , the forces of fairness … the forces of science and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of our time.
” He put that challenge of the pandemic in the context of the other obstacles that America has faced and conquered , and in the context of other kinds of challenges — like racial injustice , economic injustice and climate change — his administration would seek to overcome .
“ Folks , America has always been shaped by inflection points , by moments in time where , we have made hard decisions about who we are and what we want to be , ” he said .
Biden ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as Trump has refused to concede and has vowed to go to court to try to stave off defeat .
That effort does not appear to be a serious one , and the silence of the vast majority of congressional Republicans in the hours since the race was called suggests Trump has few allies in the political establishment willing to get in the way of a peaceful transfer of power .
Yet , with Republicans looking likely to maintain their control of the Senate , Biden ’ s ability to respond to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ severely constrained , while the legislative agenda he ran on will be significantly narrowed .
Biden ’ s promise for a conciliatory approach to government functioned as a rebuff to those on the left , who doubted the strength of his campaign in the Democratic primary , as well as an olive branch to those on the right , who — thanks the President ’ s fear-mongering — might doubt the legitimacy of his presidency .
“ For all of those of you who voted for President Trump , I understand the disappointment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ couple times myself .
But now let ’ s give each other a chance , ” Biden said .
Though the vote counts were trending his way by Wednesday morning , Biden held off on formally claiming victory until the networks projected him the winner ( and then a few more hours , as the campaign waited for the sun to set and create the staging atmosphere it had planned for ) .
The forward-looking speech occasionally glanced back , for Biden to thank his campaign , to honor his family , to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ address directly the supporters who propelled his presidential run .
“ Especially those moments and especially those moments where this campaign was at its lowest ebb , the African-American community stood up again for me , ” Biden said .
“ You always had my back and I ’ ll have yours.
” He noted the historic nature of Kamala Harris ’ ascent to the vice presidency , and on several occasion invoked callbacks to the legacy of former President Obama , under whom Biden serves as vice president .
Obama and Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
On Saturday , Biden told Harris and her husband Doug that “ like it or not , you ’ re family .
You ’ ve become an honorary Biden — there ’ s no way out.
” Not surprisingly , the speech ended on a similarly familial note , as Biden recalled an anecdote from his childhood .
“ As our grand-pappy said , when I walked out of his home when I was a kid up in Scranton , he said , ‘ Joey , keep the faith , ' ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , when she was alive , she ’ d yell , ‘ no , Joey .
Spread it.
’ Spread the faith .
”

President-elect Joe Biden, in his first speech after being declared the winner of the 2020 presidential race, said that responding to the COVID-19 pandemic would be a top priority when he enters office and challenged legislators in the divided government he will likely be managing to try to work together.
“This is part of the mandate given to us from the American people,” Biden said, as he touted the record-breaking 74 million Americans (and counting) who cast ballots in his favor.
“They want us to cooperate in their interest, and that’s the choice I’ll make,” Biden said, “And I’ll call on Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike, to make that choice with me.”
Despite the grave challenges he faces as he enters office, Biden’s victory speech struck an optimistic tone, quoting Bible verses and falling back on Bidenisms that are familiar to anyone who’s followed his half-century in public life.
It did not include any direct attacks on President Trump. The current president’s name only was mentioned as Biden made an appeal to Trump’s supporters.
“The grim era of demonization in America,” Biden said, could “begin to end here and now.”
“It’s time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again. Listen to each other again. And to make progress, we have to stop treating our opponents as our enemies. They are not our enemies. They are Americans,” Biden said. “The Bible tells us, To everything there is a season, a time to build, a time to reap and a time to sow and a time to heal. This is the time to heal in America!”
In the more somber moments of Biden’s speech, he addressed how the COVID-19 outbreak has ravaged American society, speaking directly to those who lost loved ones among the 230,000 who have died of the virus. He assured them that his heart “goes out to each and every one of you” while offering them a Bible hymn for solace.
He laid out an approach to the pandemic that would reckon directly with the reality that, without the virus contained, it would be impossible to “repair the economy, restore our vitality or relish life’s most precious moments.”
He announced that next week he’d be naming a slate of advisors to help him flesh out his COVID-19 response. He said that, in electing him, voters had called for an America that marshaled “the forces of decency, the forces of fairness … the forces of science and the forces of hope in the great battles of our time.”
He put that challenge of the pandemic in the context of the other obstacles that America has faced and conquered, and in the context of other kinds of challenges — like racial injustice, economic injustice and climate change — his administration would seek to overcome.
“Folks, America has always been shaped by inflection points, by moments in time where, we have made hard decisions about who we are and what we want to be,” he said.
Biden’s delivered the speech from Wilmington, Delaware, as Trump has refused to concede and has vowed to go to court to try to stave off defeat. That effort does not appear to be a serious one, and the silence of the vast majority of congressional Republicans in the hours since the race was called suggests Trump has few allies in the political establishment willing to get in the way of a peaceful transfer of power.
Yet, with Republicans looking likely to maintain their control of the Senate, Biden’s ability to respond to the crises facing the country will be severely constrained, while the legislative agenda he ran on will be significantly narrowed.
Biden’s promise for a conciliatory approach to government functioned as a rebuff to those on the left, who doubted the strength of his campaign in the Democratic primary, as well as an olive branch to those on the right, who — thanks the President’s fear-mongering — might doubt the legitimacy of his presidency.
“For all of those of you who voted for President Trump, I understand the disappointment tonight. I’ve lost a couple times myself. But now let’s give each other a chance,” Biden said.
Though the vote counts were trending his way by Wednesday morning, Biden held off on formally claiming victory until the networks projected him the winner (and then a few more hours, as the campaign waited for the sun to set and create the staging atmosphere it had planned for).
The forward-looking speech occasionally glanced back, for Biden to thank his campaign, to honor his family, to shout out election workers, and to address directly the supporters who propelled his presidential run.
“Especially those moments and especially those moments where this campaign was at its lowest ebb, the African-American community stood up again for me,” Biden said. “You always had my back and I’ll have yours.”
He noted the historic nature of Kamala Harris’ ascent to the vice presidency, and on several occasion invoked callbacks to the legacy of former President Obama, under whom Biden serves as vice president.
Obama and Biden often referred to each other as brothers. On Saturday, Biden told Harris and her husband Doug that “like it or not, you’re family. You’ve become an honorary Biden — there’s no way out.”
Not surprisingly, the speech ended on a similarly familial note, as Biden recalled an anecdote from his childhood.
“As our grand-pappy said, when I walked out of his home when I was a kid up in Scranton, he said, ‘Joey, keep the faith,'” Biden recalled. “And our grandmother, when she was alive, she’d yell, ‘no, Joey. Spread it.’ Spread the faith.”