While the 2020 election may be proving more of a nail biter than most polls or people predicted, President Donald Trump's pathways to victory over Democratic nominee Joe Biden are rapidly shrinking.
Biden has already flipped the crucial swing states of Wisconsin and Michigan, opening the path for the former Vice President to reach the magic number of 270 electoral votes needed to secure the White House.
The most direct pathway is through Pennsylvania, which Biden doesn't need to win but Trump does if he has any hope of being granted a second term.
As expected, Pennsylvania saw an unprecedented number of mail-in ballots, but—unlike some other states—Pennsylvania law doesn't allow those ballots to begin processing until Election Day. Because Trump and his allies spent months smearing the 100+ year old institution of mail-in voting, these ballots are largely expected to be for Biden, while in-person votes are expected to lean in Trump's favor.
Because in-person votes are processed before mail-in votes, Trump is currently ahead in Pennsylvania by 200 thousand votes, but there are still nearly a million absentee votes yet to be counted, the majority of which are expected to go to Biden, potentially giving him the White House.
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign is falsely claiming it's won Pennsylvania.
Trump tweeted that the campaign was claiming victory in a number of swing states whose winners are still undetermined.
We have claimed, for Electoral Vote purposes, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (which won't allow legal observers) the State of Georgia, and the State of North Carolina, each one of which has a BIG Trump lead. Additionally, we hereby claim the State of Michigan if, in fact,.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 4, 2020
.....there was a large number of secretly dumped ballots as has been widely reported!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 4, 2020
The President also said there were fraudulent votes cast, citing "dumped ballots," which he appears to be conflating with "ballot dumps," the term used by the media when counties report a batch of voting results.
American democracy would be much more fallible if we allowed candidates—especially incumbent Presidents—to declare victory for themselves, rather than the voters.
For that reason, people immediately began mocking Trump by "claiming" things of their own.
I hereby claim tgat I am turning 27 years old tomorrow.
— Patricia Arquette (@PattyArquette) November 5, 2020
I hereby claim I can run a 3 min. mile and bench-press 500lbs. https://t.co/xIyqYp6RhH
— Kevin Conroy (@RealKevinConroy) November 4, 2020
I hereby claim Christian Bale's feature career, @RandyRainbow's kitten, and @soledadobrien's dog.
— Bradley Whitford (@BradleyWhitford) November 5, 2020
I claim Superman's thighs. pic.twitter.com/dK68C7sKmT
— The Clarkening Continues (@drinkpinkink) November 4, 2020
I have claimed, for my own fragile ego purposes, I have a net worth of 500 Billion dollars, I am 23 years old and I weigh 112 pounds.
Additionally I hereby claim that my band is going to headline coachella for the next 45 years. pic.twitter.com/y4bhjtFXwY
— courtney laplante™️ (@corklezlaplante) November 4, 2020
I hereby claim Jake Gyllenhaal. https://t.co/wr0s3iXJkW
— Randy Rainbow (@RandyRainbow) November 4, 2020
People didn't hesitate to roast Trump as they fact checked him.
States are not Trump's to claim. The votes, which are being counted, decide who wins them.
"Hereby" is the word Trump uses when he is trying to sound official while making a declaration he has no power to make. pic.twitter.com/m1lSv7SOxl
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 4, 2020
Someone should tell Trump that hereby-claiming doesn't count, unless he lands a ship at each state and plants a flag. https://t.co/ibXpjZYIDh
— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) November 5, 2020
He's applying “when you're a star they let you do it" logic to stealing an election, but he's not a star, he's just disgraced lame-duck president Donald Trump. https://t.co/5iIMllgUnX
— Brian Beutler (@brianbeutler) November 4, 2020
The results in Pennsylvania likely won't be known until Friday at the earliest.
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The Washington Post