Joe Biden has won the US presidency over Donald Trump, TV networks projected Saturday — a victory sealed after the Democrat claimed several key battleground states won by the Republican incumbent in 2016. CNN, NBC News and CBS News called the race in his favor, after projecting he had won the decisive state of Pennsylvania.
Trump remained defiant, vowing to press unfounded claims of fraud as a weary, anxious nation waited for clarity in an election that only intensified the country’s deep polarization.
He told Joe Biden not to “wrongfully claim” the White House as incomplete returns from the presidential election showed the Democrat close to an insurmountable lead. “Joe Biden should not wrongfully claim the office of the President. I could make that claim also. Legal proceedings are just now beginning!” Trump tweeted.
On the fourth day of vote counting, Joe Biden had a 253 to 214 lead in the state by state Electoral College vote that determines the winner, according to Edison Research. Securing Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes would put Biden over the 270 he needs to win the presidency after a political career stretching back nearly five decades.
Joe Biden would also win if he prevails in two of the three other key states where he was narrowly ahead on Friday: Georgia, Arizona and Nevada. Like Pennsylvania, all three were still processing ballots on Friday.
Nationwide, Joe Biden led Trump by 4.1 million votes out of a record 147 million cast.
