'We're likely to win this race': Biden predicts victory as his lead over Trump grows
07 November, 2020
Democrat Joe Biden said on Friday (Nov 6) that he was going to win the united states presidency as his lead grew over President Donald Trump in battleground states, although television set networks held faraway from declaring him the victor as officials continued to count votes.
"The numbers reveal ... it's a clear and convincing story: We're going to win this race," Biden said, adding that he and his running mate Kamala Harris were already ending up in experts as they plan the White House.
Biden's speech was actually planned as a victory celebration, but he changed his approach in the absence of the official call from tv networks and other election forecasters.
Still, it amounted to a blunt challenge to Trump, who kept out of view in the White House on Friday as Biden's lead grew in the four states which will decide the results: Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.
Leading Trump by 4.1 million votes nationwide out of an archive 147 million cast, Biden said Americans had given him a mandate to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, the struggling economy, climate change and systemic racism.
"They managed to get clear they want the united states to get together, not continue steadily to pull apart," Biden said.
He said he hoped to handle Americans again on Saturday.
Trump has remained defiant, vowing to press unfounded claims of fraud as his Republicans sought to improve US$60 million to invest in lawsuits challenging the results. However, many in his camp described the legal effort as disorganised, therefore far they have not found success in the courts.
On the fourth day of vote counting, former Vice President Biden had a 264-to-214 lead in the state-by-state Electoral College vote that determines the winner, in line with the Associated Press.
Securing Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes would put Biden over the 270 he must win the presidency after a political career stretching back practically five decades.
Biden would also win if he prevails in two of the three other key states. Like Pennsylvania, all three were still processing ballots on Friday.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com