Biden jumps the gun

Just after midnight Joe Biden basically declared victory in the 2020 presidential election. He insisted he was doing nothing of the kind, that it was neither his nor Donald Trump's place to do so, but his other words suggested otherwise: "We feel good about where we are," he said in a short speech given before supporters sitting in their cars (a few honked their horns) in Wilmington, Delaware. "We are on track to win this election."

The closest Biden came to justifying these remarks came after he acknowledged his apparent victory in Arizona (a win yet to be declared except by Fox News). "We're going to win Pennsylvania," he confidently declared. When he said this, the president appeared to be leading by 15 percent with some 63 percent of votes counted. So far from being a sure thing, it is difficult to see how Biden has anything but a narrow path to victory in what he considers his home state. The former vice president jumped the gun.

It was otherwise a lot of silly posturing, a stunt that was probably encouraging to those of his supporters who were still awake, but it is difficult to see what it accomplished or what it means for the future.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up