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.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
-
Who owns Gaza? Israel's occupation plansThe Explainer Egypt, Israel and Britain have ruled the beleaguered territory
-
Savages: a tragi-comedy set in a 'quirky handcrafted world'The Week Recommends This new animated film by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Claude Barras is undeniably political, but it has a hopeful message
-
Why 'faceless bots' are interviewing job huntersIn The Spotlight Artificial intelligence is taking over a crucial part of recruitment
-
Ghislaine Maxwell: angling for a Trump pardonTalking Point Convicted sex trafficker's testimony could shed new light on president's links to Jeffrey Epstein
-
Does depopulation threaten humanity?Talking Points Falling birth rates could create a 'smaller, sadder, poorer future'
-
Gavin Newsom mulls California redistricting to counter Texas gerrymanderingTALKING POINTS A controversial plan has become a major flashpoint among Democrats struggling for traction in the Trump era
-
The Supreme Court and Congress have Planned Parenthood in their crosshairsTalking Points Trump's budget bill and the court's ruling threaten abortion access
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidentsThe Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
How Zohran Mamdani's NYC mayoral run will change the Democratic PartyTalking Points The candidate poses a challenge to the party's 'dinosaur wing'
-
Is Trump's military parade 'just a parade'?Talking Point Critics see an 'echo of authoritarianism'
-
Is Trump's LA troop deployment about order or authoritarianism?Talking Points President: 'We're going to have troops everywhere.'
