US elections

HIGHLIGHTS AND RESULTS: Trump vs Biden – US presidential election 2020

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HIGHLIGHTS AND RESULTS: Trump vs Biden – US presidential election 2020

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

What are the electoral vote results so far in the presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden? How do US elections work? How high is the possibility of recounts?

Bookmark and refresh this page not only for real-time election results, but also unique features, videos, and commentaries from Rappler’s pool of analysts.

Together let’s watch history unfold – and make sense of all the chaos – in this election battle between Trump and Biden.

LATEST UPDATES

Biden promises ‘new day,’ Trump heads to Georgia on eve of pivotal Senate runoffs

Reuters

President-elect Joe Biden urged Georgia voters on Monday, January 4, to send two Democrats to Washington in Tuesday runoffs that will decide control of the US Senate, while President Donald Trump prepared his own pitch to keep the chamber in Republican hands.

The Georgia races pit a pair of incumbent Republicans, Kelly Loeffler, and David Perdue, against Democratic challengers Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, respectively.

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Biden taps Haaland as first Native American to run Interior – US media

Agence France-Presse, Agence France-Presse

US President-elect Joe Biden has chosen congresswoman Deb Haaland to serve as the first Native American interior secretary, US media reported Thursday, December 17, in a move that could recast the department’s often troubled ties with indigenous tribes.

Haaland is a first-term Democrat from New Mexico in the US Congress and a member of the Laguna Pueblo people. If confirmed by the Senate, she would become the first Native American to lead a cabinet-level department.

The choice fits with Biden’s much-publicized pledge to form the most diverse White House cabinet in history.

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Transportation post would cap meteoric rise for Buttigieg

Agence France-Presse, Agence France-Presse

Pete Buttigieg’s nomination to be transportation secretary would cap a meteoric rise for the former small town Indiana mayor and make him the first openly gay Senate-confirmed member of a US presidential cabinet.

US media reported Tuesday, December 15, that President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate Buttigieg, who challenged the former vice president for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, to head the mammoth Department of Transportation.

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Biden to tap ex-governor Granholm for top energy post – reports

Agence France-Presse, Agence France-Presse

US President-elect Joe Biden is planning to nominate Jennifer Granholm, a former Michigan governor and strong clean energy advocate experienced in dealing with major automakers, as his energy secretary, US media reported Tuesday, December 15.

It is the second expected cabinet nomination reported in one day, along with Pete Buttigieg as transportation secretary, as the incoming president aims to announce the bulk of his top White House aides before Christmas.

Granholm, 61, worked extensively with Biden when she was Michigan’s governor and he was president Barack Obama’s vice president.

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Biden joins battle for Senate as top Republican accepts win

Agence France-Presse, Agence France-Presse

President-elect Joe Biden threw his weight into the Democratic battle for control of the US Senate on Tuesday, December 15, as his White House win was finally acknowledged by top Republicans and holdout foreign leaders.

Biden flew into Georgia – a southern state he won in an upset against President Donald Trump – to host a rally for two Democratic candidates in runoff races that will determine the Senate’s balance of power.

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Mexico’s Lopez Obrador congratulates Biden on US election victory

Agence France-Presse, Agence France-Presse

Mexico’s leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador congratulated US President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday, December 15, over a month after the Democrat won the US election.

Lopez Obrador, who has nurtured a cordial relationship with incumbent US President Donald Trump, was one of the last remaining high-profile leaders yet to congratulate Biden on his victory, which was confirmed on Monday, December 14, by the US Electoral College.

Earlier in the day, Russia’s Vladimir Putin also congratulated Biden, although Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, a staunch Trump ally, has yet to do so.

“I express my appreciation for his stance on Mexican migrants around the world, which will…promote the development of communities in southeastern Mexico and Central America,” said Lopez Obrador.

“We rulers must work to maintain good bilateral relations based on collaboration, friendship and respect for each other’s sovereignty.”

The Mexican leader said he was looking forward to speaking with Biden, especially about migration.

The two countries share a 3,200-kilometer long border which is crossed illegally by drug-traffickers heading north and arms dealers moving the other way, as well as by many legal migrants from Mexico and Central America seeking a better life or fleeing violence and poverty.

The neighbors are also part of a trilateral trade deal with Canada that was renegotiated under Trump.

Republican leader of US Senate congratulates Biden on election win

Agence France-Presse, Agence France-Presse

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell congratulated President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday, December 15, dealing a blow to any lingering hopes Donald Trump may have had of reversing his election defeat.

“The Electoral College has spoken,” the powerful senator from Kentucky said in a speech on the Senate floor. “So today I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden.”

McConnell also congratulated California Senator Kamala Harris on her election as Vice President.

“Beyond our differences, all Americans can take pride that our nation has a female Vice President-elect for the first time,” McConnell said.

Members of the Electoral College met around the country on Monday, December 14, and delivered 306 votes to Biden and 232 to Trump, who has refused to concede the November 3 election and claimed falsely that it was marred by fraud.

Many leading Republicans lawmakers have refused so far to acknowledge Biden’s win, but McConnell’s remarks are a clear signal to the White House that further efforts to challenge the result are futile.

Biden says Trump ‘refused to respect the will of the people’

Agence France-Presse, Agence France-Presse

President-elect Joe Biden tore into Donald Trump on Monday, December 14, with his strongest criticism since the election, saying the Republican and his allies defied the constitution and the “will of the people” in not accepting the results.

“It’s a position so extreme we’ve never seen it before. A position that refused to respect the will of the people, refused to respect the rule of law, and refused to honor our constitution,” Biden said in a speech after the Electoral College formally confirmed his victory.

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Trump announces departure of Attorney General Bill Barr

Agence France-Presse, Agence France-Presse

President Donald Trump on Monday, December 14, announced that Attorney General Bill Barr, who angered him by contradicting his claims of having been the victim of mass fraud in the US election, is leaving office.

“Just had a very nice meeting with Attorney General Bill Barr at the White House,” Trump, who is set to step down after losing the November 3 election, tweeted.

“Our relationship has been a very good one…. Bill will be leaving just before Christmas to spend the holidays with his family.”

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Electoral College confirms Biden White House victory

Agence France-Presse, Agence France-Presse

Joe Biden was confirmed as the next US president on Monday, December 14, as the Electoral College formalized his victory over Donald Trump, all but closing the door on the incumbent’s efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 election.

As Biden appealed to Americans to “turn the page” on the divisive contest, electors met across all US states to seal his win, with California pushing Biden over the majority of 270 votes – and clearing the way for him to take office on January 20.

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