2020 Presidential Election

Republican+candidate+Donald+Trump%2C+current+US+President.

Republican candidate Donald Trump, current US President.

This year’s presidential election has certainly been a mess. Early polls indicated that a higher percentage of voters supported Joe Biden, Democratic candidate, about 60 percent versus President Donald Trump’s 40 percent (BBC). Based on that information, a landslide victory for Biden was predicted by most news outlets. However, polls are often unreliable, and the election results were very different from what many expected.

Trump quickly shocked opponents as he gained a surprisingly lead early in the election. On November 3, Election Day, Trump attempted to stem the counting of votes, trying to preserve a Republican lead after a victory in Florida. Trump threatened to take his case to the Supreme Court, stating that any further counting of votes was a “fraud to the American people” (CNN). In some areas, protesters gathered around polling stations to demand to “stop the count.” Biden, on the other hand, urged his supporters to be patient. By November 5, Biden had gained 264 electoral votes (270towin.com), leaving him with 6 votes needed to win the election. By then, most new outlets projected a narrow win for Biden. On November 6, several news outlets declared Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential election, after winning Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes.

President Trump has openly disputed the results of the election, alleging voter fraud and refusing to concede or admit defeat (CNN). Trump demanded recounts in all Democratic states, drawing the ire of many Republican and Democratic politicians. He had previously attacked polling stations for (allegedly) denying entrance for people wishing to watch the polls being counted. Many believe that the lawsuits Trump procured will have no effect on the result of the election. Most of Trump’s lawsuits have been dismissed for a lack of evidence.

Despite Trump’s failure to win a second term in office, Trump’s astounding popular vote (48% to 50%) proves an important point. There are way more Trump supporters than we previously thought. As many news outlets point out, “Trumpism” is not going to go away. There are going to be many more people who believe that Trump is going to stay in office, that he should stay in office. And, given Trump’s current efforts to label the election as a fraud, he might be able to succeed.