world

Electoral College makes it official: Biden won, Trump lost

89 Comments
By Mark Sherman

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

89 Comments

Comments have been disabled You can no longer respond to this thread.

So in other words, for the umpteenth time in a row now, Trump's lost.

Now, who wants to wager that he's going to go to Mar-A-Lago for Christmas and never come back to Washington?

24 ( +28 / -4 )

challenging task of fighting the coronavirus pandemic, reviving the U.S. economy and rebuilding relations frayed with U.S. allies abroad by Trump's"America First" policies.

In other words Trump's dumping his messes for other people to clean up after him. The story of the spoiled, pampered brat's life.

And Trump's backers LOL at the damage he's done to the country, actually think it's funny Americans will continue to be smacked by the problems Trump's leaving behind thinking(?) they can blame those problems on Biden.

14 ( +19 / -5 )

Burning Bush, Biden will be the next President, Pence will formally nap the coffin on Trump Presidency

24 ( +27 / -3 )

The headline is misleading. Nothing is confirmed until the joint session of Congress on January 6th, over which Vice President Pence will be presiding.

A month ago it was all "nothing is decided until December 14". Now it is January 6. That timeline will probably keep getting pushed out until his inauguration.

22 ( +23 / -1 )

Thank you, for the love of all that is good, please finalize this already.

16 ( +18 / -2 )

If the Electoral College fails to reach a clear majority in the joint session,

Theres no doubt that it will reach a clear decision.

And as has been pointed out to you many times, in the highly unlikely circumstance you paint, it would be Nancy Polosi who would become President.

17 ( +19 / -2 )

The headline is misleading. Nothing is confirmed until the joint session of Congress on January 6th, over which Vice President Pence will be presiding.

You appear to not understand how that session will work. First of all there is a clear majority of electors in favor of Mr. Biden. There is no tie. There won't be a tie either. Here is why.

If any member of Congress disputes the electors from a state and wants to deny their certification, each house of Congress will retire to to debate the matter separately from the other house. After debating the matter separately both houses have to vote on the matter and both houses must have majorities in favor of denying certification of the results of a particular state for their electoral votes to be denied certification. Since the House is majority Democrat any such protest will end then and there. Democratic members of the House of Representatives would have to vote against certifying electors for Mr. Biden and that won't happen. In addition there are enough Senators who have expressed exasperation with the claims being made by the President that there is no assurance Mr. McConnell could guarantee every Republican member of the Senate would vote to decertify the electors from a state in dispute. There may be multiple such disputes but the Democratic majority in the House along with a handful of disgusted Senators pretty much guarantees no electoral votes will be decertified.

22 ( +23 / -1 )

If the Electoral College fails to reach a clear majority in the joint session, over which Pence will be presiding, the President is selected by a 1 State, 1 vote election held in the House. It's directly laid out in plain English in the Constitution.

You keep posting this ridiculous fallacy. To dismiss a group of electors, the following must happen:

First, a member of the House must object.

Second, a member of the Senate must second the objection.

At that point, both bodies will then retire to their respective chambers to vote on the objection. Both bodies must agree in a vote on the objection for the objection to stand and the electoral votes to be dismissed.

Then, and only then, would there be a possibility of the vote coming down to a House 1-state-1-vote situation.

However, as Democrats control the House and Republicans control the Senate, there is no way that any objection by anyone could ever get to that point. Any Republi-coup objections would be immediately voted down by the House, even if the Senate would second or support such garbage. And considering that Collins, Sasse, Romney and more have all said that Biden won, it wouldn't even get past the Senate, let alone the House.

21 ( +24 / -3 )

At this point those saying 'there's still a chance' are anti-democracy Republicans and others supporting the global alt right's pro-authoritarianism. And paid trolls from Moscow, Beijing, Ankara, Tehran, Pyongyang and elsewhere. Plus of course the Bannon/Qanon own trolls.

17 ( +20 / -3 )

The weapons industry with their salesmen and lobbyists couldn’t be happier.

That could be; but they've definitely done well during the Trump era.

6 ( +9 / -3 )

OK, Trump fantasy land campers, what is the next step on the road to four more years you’ve been bragging about now?

16 ( +19 / -3 )

At that point, both bodies will then retire to their respective chambers to vote on the objection. Both bodies must agree in a vote on the objection for the objection to stand and the electoral votes to be dismissed.

Then, and only then, would there be a possibility of the vote coming down to a House 1-state-1-vote situation.

You missed something important. Successfully opposing one delegation of electors would not be enough to change the results. This process would have to succeed with multiple states in order to reverse the electoral vote count to the point where the vote would go to Congress to decide. There is no reasonable scenario to suggest a majority Democratic House of Representatives is going to vote this way multiple times and reverse Mr. Biden's win.

12 ( +14 / -2 )

There is no reasonable scenario to suggest a majority Democratic House of Representatives is going to vote this way multiple times and reverse Mr. Biden's win.

It's scary to think if the House wasn't turned to the Democrats a couple of years ago, even the slightest scenario of controlling the election could have happened by the Republicans.

The future of elections sounds like it is in danger of fascism, so there needs to be some sort of law preventing lies of Trump sort not to be allowed. It's been a crazy thing, but I hope the country learns from his unhinged attempt to overturn a fair election.

8 ( +12 / -4 )

At this point those still crying 'fixed' rigged' 'fake' are anti-democracy Republicans and others supporting the global alt right's pro-authoritarianism. And paid trolls from Moscow, Beijing, Ankara, Tehran, Pyongyang and elsewhere. Plus of course the Bannon/Qanon trolls.

6 ( +11 / -5 )

Republican's not accepting the election is an embarrassment for the GOP.

Why is it an Embarrassment? You honestly believe that if it was flipped the Democrats would bow out gracefully? Not a chance.

-19 ( +10 / -29 )

There is still a long way to go until the joint session of Congress on January 6th. Stay tuned.

-17 ( +8 / -25 )

Why is it an Embarrassment? 

Lol because time and time again they claim there is mass voter fraud, yet can't prove. Zero evidence in court.

There is still a long way to go until the joint session of Congress on January 6th. Stay tuned.

Lolol what are the Trump clowns going to try next? Armed insurrection? An appeal to the world court?

Donald lost the election, he keeps losing in court and will continue to do so. Move on.

12 ( +16 / -4 )

Why is it an Embarrassment? You honestly believe that if it was flipped the Democrats would bow out gracefully? Not a chance.

If the Democrats tried to overturn an election with no evidence of fraud it would be an embarrassment.

20 ( +25 / -5 )

There is still a long way to go until the joint session of Congress on January 6th. Stay tuned.

Lol. Ok then. And on January 7th when your fantasy is kaput? What will you say then?

10 ( +16 / -6 )

Republican's not accepting the election is an embarrassment for the GOP.

It baffles me that statements like this are even made. What do you expect the Republicans to do? How corrupt is the DNC with all the nonsense that has got on over the last 4 years. The DNC is a dangerous puppet party that deserves what it will eventually get. The US will fair no better under Biden, you will see.

-17 ( +7 / -24 )

Well, trump lost again, the vaccine is here and Barr resigned.

What a great start to the day!!!

16 ( +23 / -7 )

What do you expect the Republicans to do?

Exactly what Hillary Clinton did and exactly what Al Gore did; Concede the election.

How corrupt is the DNC with all the nonsense that has got on over the last 4 years.

Lol what specific charges have been leveled against the DNC? Anyone in the DNC go to jail? Now, answer the same questions about the Trump cabinet. You really, really shouldn't thrown stones in a glass house.

The US will fair no better under Biden, you will see.

Oh scary! I seriously doubt things could be worse than the 300,000 dead Americans since March.

12 ( +17 / -5 )

In the 37 days after his election loss, trump has lost 48 times!!!

11 ( +14 / -3 )

And paid trolls from Moscow, Beijing, Ankara, Tehran, Pyongyang and elsewhere. Plus of course the Bannon/Qanon trolls.

Most of the trolls I'm seeing are unpaid Americans. There is an order of magnitude more disinformation coming from Americans than is coming from Russia, China and all the rest combined.

9 ( +11 / -2 )

The future of elections sounds like it is in danger of fascism, so there needs to be some sort of law preventing lies of Trump sort not to be allowed. It's been a crazy thing, but I hope the country learns from his unhinged attempt to overturn a fair election.

That's a fair point. A future Republican majority Congress could simply overturn an Electoral College and popular vote victory but a Democratic Presidential candidate by refusing to certify electoral votes and voting in someone else. There is nothing in the US Constitution to prevent this that I can see and the chances of effecting any reform that would prevent this situation are nil.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

"by a Democratic Presidential candidate", not "but a Democratic ...... " Apologies for the gaff.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

There is nothing in the US Constitution to prevent this that I can see and the chances of effecting any reform that would prevent this situation are nil.

There's no two ways around it : the electoral college must be eradicated. Same for filibustering and gerrymandering. All of that needs to go, and fast.

12 ( +14 / -2 )

Enough with the nonsense coming out of the White House and from the cult followers who continue to regurgitate fake news, disinformation and misinformation.

Democracy has won even after massive attacks from the current occupant of the White House and legislators, as well as foreign concerns who should know better than to interfere with democracy in the United States of America and the Constitution of the nation.

We the People of the United States of America have the last word.

10 ( +13 / -3 )

As all the doors close, and even more Repubs exit the Trump Crazy Train, our President is still at it yelling "rigged" and scamming his supporters out of their money....

Trump supporters need to select a name from below - they all fit your description...

Sucker, pigeon, victim, dupe, target, patsy, chump, rube, fall guy, gull, sap...

10 ( +12 / -2 )

Trump should accept the loss and bow out. Enjoy some time off in Florida before a New York Grand Jury indites him.

12 ( +14 / -2 )

The Drumpfschadenfreudefest can now begin after the EC finally puts the presidency beyond his grubby reach. It's a fine end-of-the-year gift to our covid-weary world. Trump is no Grinch, but he's sure to find a way to try and ruin our Christmas by exercising his "royal" prerogative to pardon felonious buddies, family members and even himself, courtesy of lame lame-duck "President Pence". And who knows, he might even sock one to Biden's "Deep State" by putting in a stocking filler of pardons for Snowden and Assange.

7 ( +9 / -2 )

The White House must be a fun place to be at the moment. There will be plenty of folk rushing to cover their tracks and get rid of evidence.

15 ( +16 / -1 )

Game over. Good bye Trump. We won't miss you.

10 ( +13 / -3 )

Why is it an Embarrassment? You honestly believe that if it was flipped the Democrats would bow out gracefully? Not a chance.

Yeah, remember the lack of grace back in 2016 when the shoe was on the other foot? When Hillary called Trump right away on election night to concede and wish him best, while Obama called him into the White House and said he hoped he succeeded the next day? Disgraceful behavior compared to how elegantly and gracefully Trump has handled his loss.

15 ( +18 / -3 )

Given Trump's insistence in his recent Thanksgiving event that he would only leave the White House in January if the electoral college votes for Democratic president-elect Joe Biden, he should accept his US Election defeat with dignity today.

14 ( +15 / -1 )

Drag Trump out.

7 ( +13 / -6 )

Slayer

Republican's not accepting the election is an embarrassment for the GOP.

Why is it an Embarrassment? You honestly believe that if it was flipped the Democrats would bow out gracefully?

Totally. Why? Because that's what they have always done. Even when Gore had a very close election go to court, he conceded as soon as it was decided. Trump should have conceded over a month ago. What an absolute embarrassment.

10 ( +14 / -4 )

Drag Trump out.

Why?

-21 ( +3 / -24 )

Because that's what they have always done. Even when Gore had a very close election go to court, he conceded as soon as it was decided. 

It took Gore five weeks to concede. Hillary never believed she lost - claiming still today that Trump is an illegitimate president. Biden responding to a question also stated the same. Jimmy Carter is on video stating his belief that Trump is not a legitimate president. No one should be surprised that the pendulum is swinging in the other direction now.

-25 ( +4 / -29 )

Is this election saga finally over?

9 ( +11 / -2 )

They can win this, lawfully and constitutionally on June 6th.

June 6th? Oh snap, no you're just throwing random dates out there dude.

11 ( +12 / -1 )

Well, as a Trump supporter, I fully endorse our President asking for money to help fight this great injustice...

Yes indeed, this election was rigged - rigged by Hugo Chavez, Hillary, and Bill Cosby...

Cosby and his ANTIFA prison buddies created a super software program that changed Trump votes to Biden votes....in them their Dominion machines...

And once Kamala is President she will pardon him and make him her VP...

It's the truth - I read it on Newsmax...

10 ( +15 / -5 )

Trump is still posting his fake tweets.

I read that Twitter is blocking the ability to like or retweet, since they are so full of the brown stuff.

All he has left is pushing out lies and misinformation while 3,000 people a day die from his lack of leadership and abject negligence and unbounded narcissism.

Paper shredders are probably working overtime like an overrun embassy or a spyboat about to be boarded.

Solarwinds hacking anyone? Does Dominion Voting Systems use Solarwinds?

Tuned in just to read the latest gasps for relevance on this site.

13 ( +14 / -1 )

WolfpackToday  10:54 am JST

Drag Trump out.

Why?

He's refused to concede defeat after numerous state and two supreme court legal rulings have clearly stated there is no evidence that voter fraud occurred and that his lawsuits were meritless. He even tried to have a state submit a lawsuit against other states (LOL!!!). Now the electoral college has certified that Biden won yet Trump still refuses to accept that he lost. I wouldn't be surprised if he has to be 'escorted' out. You either believe and support the democratic process or you don't. Drag him out.

15 ( +17 / -2 )

Trump wants the title of president, but he doesn't want the responsibilities of president. People he has sworn to protect are dying and suffering economically, while he sits by and does nothing.

Biden is acting more presidential than Trump ever has. I wish Trump would just leave now and let Biden take over.

11 ( +13 / -2 )

Is anyone shocked? Well, I can think of a few...

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Hillary never believed she lost 

What part of "She called Trump to concede" do you fail to understand?

There is a huge difference between trusting the results of an election and questioning what let to these results, and then outright claiming there has been widespread fraud without any proof whatsoever.

Trump can be considered an illegitimate president because he lost the popular vote and was only elected through the outdated process of the electoral college, like Bush Jr. before him. But Hillary, or any democrat for that matter, never, ever claimed that dead people and illegal immigrants voted for Trump. Because that would be crazy.

19 ( +21 / -2 )

Just to be clear about the process, Biden won a majority of the EC votes today, making him the President-elect. Republicans can raise objections on January 6, but that is something that is voted on in both houses by a majority vote, not a "1 state, 1 vote" situation. That means House Democrats will literally have to vote to hand the election to Trump.

Sure, some Republicans will create drama by raising objections on January 6. Some people want to show their base that they stand with Trump. In the end they will only shoot themselves in the foot, especially in the Senate, by forcing their members to go on record with a vote trying to overturn an election. That's gonna suck for them.

If Pence refuses to finalize the vote then we have no President or Vice President. At that point the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, becomes acting President on January 20.

Game over.

15 ( +16 / -1 )

Congratulations to U S President-elect Biden and U S Vice President-elect Harris!

16 ( +17 / -1 )

It took Gore five weeks to concede.

Because Gore actually had an arguable case - it was a difference of a few hundred voted in one state subject to a recount, not hundreds of thousands of votes across multiple states. And of course once the Supreme Court (which actually heard his case instead of dismissing it out of hand) ruled against him, he made a pretty gracious concession speech.

Hillary never believed she lost

Does she? Because her words and actions certainly indicated a clear acceptance of the fact that she lost.

Jimmy Carter is on video stating his belief that Trump is not a legitimate president. 

Not sure what the context is behind that statement, but I doubt Carter was saying the 2016 election results were fraudulent without any evidence to back it up. Seems more likely it was a comment in relation to Trump's complete and utter lack of qualification for the job, but having not seen it I can't say for sure.

No one should be surprised that the pendulum is swinging in the other direction now.

Yes, I'm not surprised that the pendulum has swung away from Trump. Enough is enough.

12 ( +14 / -2 )

Capitalism and limited government at least allows for those responsible for poor decisions and mistakes to be held accountable.

As proven by the amount of bankers prosecuted and jailed after the Lehman Brothers collapse! And the Enron scandal! And so many more examples of bankers causing incredible amounts of damage to the economy, then completely held accountable by limited government. History is fraught with them.

...No, wait, actually it's the complete opposite. Capitalism doesn't hold anyone accountable because limited government doesn't have the power or the will to do so. I'm actually amazed at how wrong everything you have written is.

8 ( +10 / -2 )

Nothing else to say is there. Congratulation Mr President elect Biden. Or should that be Ms Harris, because Mr Biden has already stated he only has enough juice for 'max' one term.

I would be willing to wager Harris will be running the show before the term ends.

4 ( +9 / -5 )

Reading posts from the Trump supporters here, the only phrases that seem to fit are "desperate" and "grasping for straws"...

Of course, this is all part of the "plan" - Trump will continue to yell "rigged" for the next four years, even when he is sitting in a cell at Rikers Island for tax fraud....

And his supporters will continue sending him their hard-earned money - and implore him to run in 2024...

The only problem is, his sentence will run until 2026...even with good behavior...

14 ( +16 / -2 )

Senior Republicans accept Biden as president-elect, reject talk of overturning election

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-senate-idUSKBN28O33F?taid=5fd7f3306bd4b60001875a9f&utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

"Thune added that any effort to try to overturn the result when Congress counts the Electoral College votes on Jan. 6 would get little support. “It’s not going anywhere,” he told reporters.

Senator John Cornyn, another veteran Republican, said he thought any such effort “would be a bad mistake” that would be soundly defeated in the 100-member chamber, currently controlled by his party.

(end)

Zero chance of a reversal from the House and senior GOP leadership is saying there's zero chance of a reversal in the Senate.

17 ( +17 / -0 )

I've never been very interested in reading history, but there have been a lot of interesting articles about other elections that had some degree of refusal to accept facts.

The closest analogue was strangely the election of Kennedy. I didn't know.

Apparently, a lot of Southern "politicians" didn't want Kennedy elected as president because of his views against segregation, even though he won the election. They plotted and plotted. Obviously, it didn't work out for them. Nixon was the outgoing VP and dryly said after opening the first EC vote something along the line of "Our distinguished colleague Senator Bird from [State] is in the lead with two votes" Nixon lost the election and even then supported the rule of law.

The more I am reading about this history, the more respect I have for Nixon. For example, he supported de-segregation in the south.

Still, I'll never forgive him for giving the U.S. HMOs, the precursor to the U.S.' current failed health system and health insurance. "You mean we can give less care and make more money?" (recorded on "secret" tapes). "HMOs will reduce costs and increase the quality of care for Americans" (stated moments later in a news conference).

Trump will have his fans, but his broken legacy will also need to survive the many criminal and legal challenges that await.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

I am so relieved that America can go back to being Great again. These 4 years will forever be engraved in our history as a dark stain on our Democracy, a lesson to us all that putting a person not fit to be POTUS into the WH can cause immeasurable damage to our country.

12 ( +12 / -0 )

Well, I guess that leaves our conservatives no other choice than outright domestic terrorism. But that is what their politicians have been doing, denying stimulus checks to people and only to corporations, and to those who donate to their campaign. And of course, voting against clean air, water, and violence against women, etc, etc. etc.

11 ( +11 / -0 )

I am watching George Orwell 1984....I suggest you all watch it" This is what the media and the left is looking to do"

Seriously? Really? If there is any Big Brother, it is TRUMP. With his hate sessions (I call them whine sessions) and his brown shirts going around shooting people and tearing up BLM signs, yep, you better watch 1984 because it is TRUMP who wants to play dictator. Not Biden.

10 ( +10 / -0 )

There were only two types of Americans during this election. Didn't matter what political party they applied to, or if they were unaffiliated. There were those that put Trump before democracy and the soul of this country, and those that put democracy and the soul of this country before Trump. There were smart conservatives (average citizens, and some state officials... not federal politicians) that saw this a mile away and ditched the GOP, some that stayed and fought against Trump, and some just prostrated themselves before Trump like some sick crazy fascists cult.

As I said before, Democrats voted against Trump, Independents voted against Trump, and even Republicans with their sanity intact, voted against Trump. They were not RINOS, they were Republicans that put democracy and country before Trump.... unlike some people we know here.

15 ( +15 / -0 )

Dave:. So sad that America has become 3rd world when it come to elections

Not Americans. The GOP. Americans won today.

14 ( +14 / -0 )

Trump lost in a completely legitimate democratic election that our country has engaged in for DECADES. The bad sport mentality he has is exactly what it is, a bad sport. No conspiracy, no secret gub'mint tactic, just man and his cult of followers trying to destroy democracy and willing to violate their fellow Americans CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT to vote for whom the majority chooses. All because they couldn't handle the outcome that "their" guy didn't win.

13 ( +13 / -0 )

Well that confirms it. But unfortunately, Trump and his cult will want to continue to beat the drum that it was all a fraud. Something I don't get though is, that Trump is contesting the states (Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin) that have pretty much always been Democrat blue. In fact, you could make a case that the blip in 2016 could be fishy because of the long Democratic tradition in those states.

Georgia's flip to blue can easily be explained by the efforts made by Stacey Abrams and her crew in getting so many poor and minority voters registered, and trying to stop the tradition of voter suppression in that state.

As for Arizona, Trump only has himself to blame, as he openly disparaged their favorite son in the late John McCain. I really don't think the good people of Arizona would take too kindly to one of their own being insulted.

Also, it's his fault that he saw a sudden surge of Biden votes in those states. If those states had been allowed to count the mail-in ballots before election day as they came in, thus saving time on the results, he would have seen Biden leading from the get-go.

12 ( +12 / -0 )

Republicans control the State Delegations in both the House and the Senate.

They can win this, lawfully and constitutionally on June 6th.

No, they can't. Should they try to it would be the end of US democracy, and the beginning of the 2nd civil war.

The only ones who win from that is China and Russia. I think it is highly likely that both have been stoking the anger within America between right wing and left wing for their own advantage. They have played it wonderfully as the hostility is palpable.

Do not let the outside players win. Biden was voted in fairly, as Trump was in 2016. The will of the people must be respected.

11 ( +12 / -1 )

The game is over, but the con continues...

We know how this will end - or perhaps not end...

Today - election is certified...."It's rigged, send me money"...

Jan 6th - Biden's win is ratified by Congress..."It's rigged, send me money"...

Jan 20th - Biden is sworn in...."It's rigged, send me money"...

Jun 4th - Trump is in court facing multiple tax fraud charges..."It's rigged, send me money"...

Dec 10th - Trump is sitting in his cell talking to Manafort...."It's rigged, send me money"...

12 ( +13 / -1 )

Is this election saga finally over?

legally yes

emotionally for many, no

13 ( +14 / -1 )

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites