The Associated Press has called the election for Joe Biden, after declaring the former vice president the winner in Pennsylvania. After a bitterly divisive election, President Trump has vowed to challenge the result in court.
The Associated Press declared Biden the winner on Saturday morning, four days after Americans went to the polls. As Biden extended his lead over Trump in Pennsylvania, the AP declared him victorious in the Keystone State, a win that put him over the 270 electoral votes needed to secure the presidency.
JOE BIDEN DEFEATS PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP The Associated Press declares Joe Biden the winner of a grueling campaign for the American presidency. He will lead a polarized nation through a historic collision of health, economic and social crises. #APracecallpic.twitter.com/lInwqjX3PB
In a tweet on Saturday morning, AP said that Biden will “lead a polarized nation through a historic collision of health, economic and social crises.”
President Donald Trump’s handling of these crises was a key focus of the Biden campaign, with the former vice president accusing Trump of bungling the response to the coronavirus pandemic, and apparently fuelling racial resentment across the US.
The AP’s call is considered authoritative, but the final result of the election will not be set in stone until electoral votes are certified in December, or until Trump concedes.
Trump has given no indication that he will concede, declaring earlier on Saturday that he won the election “BY A LOT.” A day earlier, his campaign managed to secure a Supreme Court order forcing election officials in Pennsylvania to segregate late-arriving mail ballots, ahead of another court case that could see them tossed out.
Trump has mounted a range of lawsuits to challenge Biden’s apparent victory, and has called for a recount in Georgia and Wisconsin. The president has alleged that his observers were barred from polling centers in Pennsylvania, that out-of-state voters illegally swung Nevada in Biden’s favor, and that faulty software benefited Biden in a number of states.
At time of writing, Biden has not yet publicly declared victory. Meanwhile, President Trump has called a press conference with his lawyers in Philadelphia later on Saturday morning.
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