Biden and Trump Fight Out Surprisingly Close Election
Despite polls suggesting the Democratic candidate would beat the president, the contest is tight.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden remained in a tight battle for the presidency Wednesday, despite widespread polling that predicted a clear Biden win but appeared to be as flawed as it was four years ago, when Hillary Clinton lost to Trump.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden remained in a tight battle for the presidency Wednesday, despite widespread polling that predicted a clear Biden win but appeared to be as flawed as it was four years ago, when Hillary Clinton lost to Trump.
The two candidates were in a desperate fight to win some of the same Midwestern states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin—the so-called Democratic blue wall—that cost Clinton the election four years ago, with the counting not yet done. Final vote tallies were not expected until later Wednesday at the earliest, but one outcome was clear: The United States is just as polarized as the pundits feared.
Trump, in a late-night press conference at the White House, prematurely declared victory and vowed to fight any effort to count outstanding ballots, including at the Supreme Court.
“This is a fraud on the American people,” he said, referring to efforts to count ballots in key states such as Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. “As far as I am concerned, we have already won it.”
Biden was bidding to be elected the 46th president of the United States, putting him in a position to replace one of the most tumultuous and controversial leaders in American history. In a statement after midnight Tuesday, Biden told supporters that the vote could go well into Wednesday, in part because of the late mail-in votes yet to come in. “We’re feeling good about where we are,” Biden said. “We’re feeling real good about Wisconsin and Michigan. And by the way it’s going to take time to count votes, but we’re going to win Pennsylvania.”
If he manages to eke out a win, which may not be known for days, the 77-year-old Biden would be expected to be a far more predictable and stable president than Trump, one who has pledged to restore U.S. alliances and prestige, as well as attack COVID-19 in a more forthright way.
But obstacles remain, including possible legal challenges by the Trump campaign should the vote go Biden’s way.
To leave FP’s live election blog and read the rest of this article, click here.
Michael Hirsh is a columnist for Foreign Policy. He is the author of two books: Capital Offense: How Washington’s Wise Men Turned America’s Future Over to Wall Street and At War With Ourselves: Why America Is Squandering Its Chance to Build a Better World. Twitter: @michaelphirsh
More from Foreign Policy

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?
The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World
It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.
Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing
The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.