Dr Andrew Moran, Head of Politics and International Relations, weighs in on the tumultuous American election amid Trump's false claims that the result is being 'stolen'.
Date: 04 November 2020
Neither candidate has got the clean win they would have hoped for. Yet again the pollsters will be scratching their heads. Biden has performed worse than predicted, and Trump has done better. But there is no clear winner and we may not know for a number of days as postal votes and absentee ballots are counted. For America, it is the nightmare scenario so many have feared.
We are now in an unpredictable moment at a time of pandemic exhaustion, racial tension, and a febrile atmosphere over the outcome of this election. What is clear is that lawyers will be busy fighting each candidate’s corner seeking to stop or keep the count going in key states.
Trump’s Twitter outburst will probably go into overdrive, continuing to claim the election is being stolen. Biden will try and look presidential. Shops will continue to be boarded up and there is a real fear of violence as militia groups, and others, walk the streets.
In a democracy, it is important that every vote is counted. The problem is whether Americans will be prepared to wait. Two dramatically different visions of America are at stake here. Don’t expect either side to go quietly into the night.
