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Ballots are still being counted and the U.S. presidential race remains too close to call in key states including Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina and Wisconsin, where Democrat Joe Biden has now opened up a razor-thin lead.
That didn’t stop Donald Trump from declaring victory in a televised early morning address from the White House, just as he’d telegraphed for weeks he would do.
The president also said he would ask the Supreme Court, to which he added a new member just last week, to intervene.
“This is a fraud on the American public,” Trump said, complaining about ongoing vote-counting after noting that he holds leads in several states that have not been called in his favor, including Pennsylvania and Michigan.
It wasn’t immediately clear what Trump meant, as those states and others are counting legally cast votes — states routinely continue totaling ballots after Election Day. Even some Republican allies voiced unease at his statement.
Biden, who earlier in the evening urged supporters to “keep the faith” and expressed confidence about his chances, is projected to win Arizona, the first state to flip into the Democrats’ column from 2016. Biden’s success there complicates the president’s path to re-election.
“We’re going to have to be patient until the hard work of tallying votes is finished,” Biden said.
With tensions already high in America, Biden’s plea for forbearance may be tested, particularly if any legal challenges run into days or weeks.
And, as Laurence Arnold explains, Trump’s premature assertion he won — while carrying no official weight — just increases the risk the turmoil will boil over. — Kathleen Hunter
Trump with First Lady Melania at the White House early this morning.
Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg
Click here for a closer look at how long the ballot counting could take in key states and here for more photos from Election Day. Tell us how we’re doing or what we’re missing at balancepower@bloomberg.net.
Election Headlines
Narrowing path | Democrats’ chances of taking control of the Senate were greatly diminished after several vulnerable Republican incumbents including Joni Ernst in Iowa and Steve Daines in Montana fended off well-financed Democratic challengers. Democrats did take Senate seats from Republicans in Colorado and Arizona, but they lost one in heavily Republican Alabama. Several races remain too close to call. Click here for live results.
No Blue Wave? | Democrats are projected to keep control of the U.S. House, but with at least six incumbents losing their seats, the party is falling far short of pre-election expectations of an expanded majority. Speaker Nancy Pelosi could even be left with less room to maneuver.
Key election links:
Track Live Results in the Presidential and Congressional Races
What More Than 100 Million Early Votes Say About 2020 Turnout
Why the U.S. Has ‘Electors’ Who Choose the President
Montana Congressman Elected Governor, Incumbents Keep Seats
Customers watch monitors on election night at a restaurant in Mexico City.
Photographer: Cesar Rodriguez/Bloomberg
Don’t miss the biggest election headlines as they happen. Download Bloomberg’s app for Android or for iOS and turn on push notifications.
Global Headlines
Political cost | Boris Johnson is set to push a fresh virus lockdown for England through Parliament, facing down rebels in his ranks who reject the erosion of civil liberties the restrictions entail. The prime minister for weeks opposed another lockdown as a “nuclear” option and ridiculed the opposition for demanding one; his U-turn sparked concerns among business leaders and anger within his party.
Brexit negotiators begin a four-day break today, with time running out to reach a deal on future trading arrangements between the U.K. and the European Union.
Shock and awe | China’s stunning suspension of Ant Group’s $35 billion initial public offering is just the start of a campaign to rein in the fintech empire controlled by Jack Ma. Authorities are setting their sights on Ant’s credit platforms that funnel loans from banks and other financial institutions to millions of consumers across China, sources say. That would render many of Ant’s existing transactions non-compliant.
Read about the extraordinary events that threw the future of Ant into doubt.
Ma was set to become Asia’s richest person; instead, his net worth sank almost $3 billion.
The mascot for Ant at the company's headquarters in Hangzhou in October 2019.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
Rumors of war | Saying “the red line is crossed,” Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared a state of emergency in the Tigray region and ordered a military response to attacks on a federal defense camp by forces he said are linked to the governing party there. As Samuel Gebre reports, it’s the latest sign the central government is struggling to end ethnic violence wracking Africa’s second-most populous country.
What to Watch
Italy plans to impose a ban on people leaving or entering cities and towns facing a high risk from the coronavirus and a nationwide 10 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew from tomorrow until Dec. 3.
EU finance chiefs hold a second day of talks by videoconference focusing on anti-money-laundering measures and terrorist funding.
Poland’s government is stalling the implementation of a high court ruling that effectively bans elective abortion and has triggered some of the biggest demonstrations since the fall of communism.
And finally ... Protesters took to the streets in several U.S. states, with police arresting 14 in Minneapolis for “probable cause riot” after demonstrators spray painted buildings and set off fireworks. More than 300 marched through Portland in what appeared to be a continuation of protests against police violence. In Los Angeles, authorities declared an unlawful assembly after about 100 demonstrators tried to move onto the I-10 Freeway. Seattle police made about eight arrests.
Demonstrators detained near the Staples Center in Los Angeles yesterday.
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
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