US elections 2020: Biden leads in polls going into Election Day but battlegrounds tight
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THE TIMES OF INDIA | Jun 11, 2024, 13:09:50 IST
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US elections 2020: Biden leads in polls going into Election Day but battlegrounds tight

A record 90 million Americans have voted early in the presidential election as President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden campaigned continue their campaign across the nation
12:45 (IST) Nov 02
US heightens security ahead of Tuesday's presidential election

In Washington, D.C., shopfronts are boarding up their windows with plywood or putting up other makeshift barriers, some of them stretching nearly entire blocks, reports Xinhua news agency."We do not have any intelligence on planned activity to suggest the need to board up; however, we remain vigilant," John Falcicchio, Deputy Mayor of Washington, D.C. for Planning and Economic Development, said in a statement on Sunday. "We understand the difficult position building owners and operating businesses are in, and we call upon all who participate in First Amendment activities to denounce violence and report it immediately should it occur," he said.

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12:12 (IST) Nov 02
Trump says he may fire disease specialist Fauci
President Donald Trump is suggesting that he will fire the nation's top infectious disease expert after Tuesday's election, as he expresses frustration that the coronavirus remains in the news amid a nationwide spike of Covid-19.Rallying supporters after midnight in Florida, Trump suggested that the virus would get less news coverage after Election Day. It sparked part of the crowd to chant "Fire Fauci," in reference to Dr Anthony Fauci.Trump replied to the crowd, "Don't tell anybody, but let me wait until a little bit after the election." He has previously expressed that he was concerned about the political blowback of removing the popular and respected doctor before Election Day. He added he appreciated the "advice" of the crowd.Fauci has grown outspoken that Trump has ignored his advice for containing the virus, saying he hasn't spoken with Trump in more than a month. He has raised alarm that the nation was heading for a challenging winter if more isn't done soon to slow the spread of the disease which has killed more than 230,000 Americans so far this year.
11:48 (IST) Nov 02
President Donald Trump has said that the US will never forget what China did to it by failing to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic which he said has devastated America's economy.Addressing election rallies on Sunday, Trump said America was on track of its economic revival and was doing well, but it was hit by a virus that came from China.“We had the greatest economy in the history of our country. And then we got hit by the China plague, which we're not going to forget,” he said.“So we closed it up. We closed it up and then we opened it up and we saved. I'll tell you we saved 2 million lives....But what happened with that shouldn't have been...we can never forget what China did to us, we can never forget,” Trump said.Trump has repeatedly blamed China for the coronavirus pandemic which originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year and accused Beijing of suppressing the details of the contagion.The US is the worst-affected country from the virus with over 2,31,000 deaths and over 9 million infections. The pandemic devastated the country's economy, resulting in the loss of millions of jobs.
11:34 (IST) Nov 02
The former vice president, during a poll event in Philadelphia on Sunday, criticised the Trump administration's handling of the coronavirus pandemic which has so far killed over 230,000 people and infected 9.2 million others in the US, saying “imagine where we would be if we had a president who wore a mask instead of mocked it?
11:11 (IST) Nov 02
Idli with ‘really good Sambar' and ‘any kind of Tikka' favourite Indian dishes: Kamala Harris

Born to a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, Harris, 55, is the first Indian-origin and first Black woman to be picked by a major American political party for the post of vice president.Harris, responding to a question on what her favourite Indian dishes are, said: "So South Indian, it would be Idli with a really good Sambar, and then North Indian - probably any kind of Tikka".In a video posted on Twitter on Sunday, the California Senator answered some questions asked by Instagram users.

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11:06 (IST) Nov 02
Trump tells Georgia rally he will win state
President Donald Trump expressed confidence that he already has victory in Georgia assured as he campaigns in the newly competitive battleground two days before Election Day.Trump told thousands of supporters at a rally in northwestern Georgia that his aides told him he had the state "made.""They said sir you don't have to come to Georgia. We have it made."He added: "They said this morning, honestly, you can skip Georgia."The state, like much of the country, has seen record turnout in early voting, as Democrats aim to capture demographic changes to find a new pathway to the presidency through the state. Trump is wagering on a boom of Republican votes to help him overcome Democratic advantages in early voting.
10:38 (IST) Nov 02
US President Donald Trump on Sunday denied that he is planning to prematurely declare victory after the presidential polls are over on Tuesday, but hinted that he is gearing up for a legal battle post the election."No, no that was a false report," Trump told reporters at the Charlotte airport in North Carolina amidst a news report that he is planning to prematurely declare victory on the election night. At the same time, he indicated that his team is gearing up for a legal battle on the election night itself."I think it is a terrible thing when ballots can be collected after an election. I think it is a terrible thing when people or states are allowed to tabulate ballots for a long period of time after the election is over because it can only lead to one thing," Trump said."We are going in the night of -- as soon as the election is over -- we are going in with our lawyers," he said as he criticised the decision taken by the Supreme Court to allow ballots to be received after Election Day in several battleground states.
09:53 (IST) Nov 02
Among the prominent Indian-origin endorsers are Congressmen Raja Krishnamoorthi and Ami Bera, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, Former Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia in US Department of State Nisha Desai Biswal, Chair of Maryland Democratic Party AAPI Leadership Council Devang Shah, Chair of Democratic Asian Americans of Virginia (DAAV) Praveen Meyyan, Assembly member Ash Kalra of California State Assembly.
09:40 (IST) Nov 02
One of America's top government scientists, Anthony Fauci, has issued an urgent plea for a change in US policy on the coronavirus, drawing a sharp rebuke from the Trump administration in the final days of a hard-fought election campaign.Fauci, in an interview in the Washington Post on Sunday, warned that the United States is headed for "a whole lot of hurt" unless it makes an "abrupt change" in health practices.With many Americans ignoring safe practices and many hospitals already under severe strain as cold weather and the flu season arrive, "You could not possibly be positioned more poorly," Fauci said. "It's not a good situation."
08:46 (IST) Nov 02
Music superstar Lady Gaga got into an unlikely Twitter feud Sunday with President Donald Trump's reelection campaign after they accused her of being anti-fracking.Democratic challenger Joe Biden announced that Gaga would appear with him Monday evening at a drive-in rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a state crucial to clinching victory on November 3.Trump's team responded immediately, slamming the joint appearance."Nothing exposes Joe Biden's disdain for the forgotten working men and women of Pennsylvania like campaigning with ant-fracking activist Lady Gaga," campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said in a statement posted to Twitter.
08:11 (IST) Nov 02
Trump vows to disprove polls
Donald Trump vowed to again defy the polls as he sprinted through five swing states Sunday, while his opponent Joe Biden urged supporters to "take back our democracy" by voting in two days.The last-minute scramble came as polls showed Biden maintaining his overall lead -- but with some slight tightening in key states including Pennsylvania, where he leads by four points, and Florida, now a tossup, according to a RealClearPolitics average of polls.With Americans galvanized by the stakes, the election has already mobilized a record number of early voters."We're now leading," Trump insisted before a raucous rally of supporters in Washington Township, Michigan."Look, we're leading in Florida. We're leading in Georgia... They say it's a very close race in Texas. I don't think so. They did that four years ago and I won in a landslide."Snow flurries fell on Trump and the crowd as he shivered and joked repeatedly about the brisk winds and freezing conditions.He warned, in a state long dependent on manufacturing, that Biden had "spent 47 years outsourcing your jobs, opening your borders and sacrificing American blood and treasure in endless foreign wars."
07:46 (IST) Nov 02
US judge orders USPS to reinforce 'extraordinary measures' ballot delivery policy
The US Postal Service (USPS) must remind senior managers they must follow its "extraordinary measures" policy and use its Express Mail Network to expedite ballots ahead of Tuesday’s presidential election, under an order signed by a US judge.US District Judge Emmet Sullivan's order on Sunday, which was agreed to by USPS, said the postal service must reinforce its "special procedures" to ensure it "delivers every ballot possible by the cutoff time on Election Day."USPS will also reinforce to managers that "all ballots with a local destination must be cleared and processed on the same day or no later than the next morning for delivery to local offices, from now through at least November 7."
05:47 (IST) Nov 02
Speaking to dozens of cars parked in a muddy field at a downtown Philadelphia park, Biden told the crowd that "the truth is, to beat the virus, we first have to beat Donald a Trump - he is the virus!''
05:47 (IST) Nov 02
Biden says Trump is another 'virus' to defeat
Joe Biden says he'll take on the coronavirus pandemic, but first he has to defeat another "virus'': Donald Trump.
05:08 (IST) Nov 02
Trump says he's preparing for legal challenges, reports AP
President Donald Trump says he's preparing for legal challenges to the counting of mail and absentee votes in Pennsylvania. Speaking to reporters in Charlotte ahead of a rally in Hickory, Trump says: "We're going in the night of as soon as the election is over we're going in with our lawyers.'
03:17 (IST) Nov 02
"We have to earn our democracy. We have to get out and vote," Biden said at a drive-in rally in a parking lot outside a Philadelphia church, with supporters honking their car horns.
03:17 (IST) Nov 02
The former vice president made the latest in a series of appearances in closely contested Pennsylvania, the state where he was born.
03:17 (IST) Nov 02
Trump stumps in Midwest, Biden in Pennsylvania two days before election
Two days before Election Day, President Donald Trump on Sunday sprinted across U.S. battleground states with appearances in Iowa and Michigan as he seeks to rally past Democratic challenger Joe Biden, who in pivotal Pennsylvania implored his supporters to turn out to vote.
22:16 (IST) Nov 01
Trump, Biden hit key states in final weekend sprint before vote
Donald Trump was visiting five swing states Sunday in a furious blitz of campaigning against challenger Joe Biden with just two days left before a US presidential election that has already drawn a record number of early votes. Biden focused Sunday on a state vital to both men: Pennsylvania, where the former vice president plans two socially distanced events in Philadelphia. The last-minute scramble came as polls showed Biden maintaining his overall lead but with some tightening in states including Pennsylvania, where he leads by a half-dozen points, and in another key state, Florida, a margin-of-error tossup.