Joe Biden passes 80 million total votes as Donald Trump claims he has a 'big lawsuit' which will prove 'ballot fraud and more' despite consistent court defeats
President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday crossed a historic milestone and got 80 million votes – more than any candidate in U.S. history, in an election President Donald Trump continues to call 'rigged.'
Biden and running mate Kamala Harris's vote total exceeds Trump's by more than 6 million votes, and his lead as a percentage has grown to 51 to 47 per cent, making the election that will make Biden the 46th president not particularly close.
It was in the electoral college where Trump could have prevailed if tens of thousands of votes had gone the other way in a handful of key states, but as it stands with states continuing to certify their results, Biden is on track to win 306 electoral votes to Trump's 223.
That is the same number Trump amassed in 2016.
President Donald Trump promised a 'big lawsuit' Tuesday
The gulf separating the two candidates in the popular vote – which does not decide the race – has not kept Trump from threatening more litigation, even after his administration allowed the formal beginning of a presidential transition Monday.
Trump promised Tuesday that a 'big lawsuit' to come.
Within hours of Trump's missive, Pennsylvania certified Biden's win. He beat Trump by 80,000 votes. In Michigan, another part of the 'blue wall,' Biden beat him by more than 150,000 votes.
The Trump campaign has already filed numerous suits, and the results for Trump have been less than promising, with a key setback in Pennsylvania helping precipitate the administration's delayed acknowledgement that President-elect Joe Biden is the 'apparent winner.'
Trump retweeted a Breitbart News story showing that 79 per cent of Trump voters believe the election was stolen through illegal voting and fraud.
The poll celebrated by the president was part of a Politico story asserting that '2020 proved out divided America is as a nation.'
Trump added his own commentary: 'They are 100% correct, but we are fighting hard. Our big lawsuit, which spells out in great detail all of the ballot fraud and more, will soon be filled. RIGGED ELECTION!'
President-elect Joe Biden surpassed 80 million votes
The Biden Harris ticket got more votes than any ticket in U.S. history
Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis says the Trump campaign's suit over Pennsylvania will go to the Supreme Court
Trump has repeatedly called the election rigged, even saying before Election Day that it would be rigged by mail-in ballots.
It was not immediately clear what big lawsuit his team would be filing. Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis issued a statement on state certifications Monday after Michigan certified its vote for Biden – adding yet another blow to Trump's strategy of overturning the vote in places where he lost.
She called it 'simply a procedural step' and added: 'We are going to continue combatting election fraud around the country as we fight to count all the legal votes.'
The campaign has appealed to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals after a federal district court judge in Pennsylvania issued an extraordinary takedown in a ruling that blasted the 'Frankenstein' legal theories of Trump's lawyers.
Ellis blasted MSNBC's Ari Melber asking her 'what is the point of all this?' Her response on Twitter: 'Do you know how a case GETS to the Supreme Court? One side has to appeal a final opinion they disagree with. As I said, Third Circuit has granted our appeal, and we already have one case from PA pending before SCOTUS.'
Her tweet indicates Trump wants to follow through on his original plan of getting a case before the Supreme Court, where he hopes 6-3 conservative court with new Justice Amy Coney Barrett will rule in his favor, despite more than 30 defeats in court so far.
Biden transition advisor Bob Bauer was unimpressed with the claims. 'It's readily apparent to everyone besides Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and Jenna Ellis that this election is over and that Joe Biden won resoundingly,' he said, ribbing Trump's legal team.
'Trump did everything he could to disenfranchise voters and stop the results from being certified in Pennsylvania, including filing over 15 unsuccessful lawsuits—most recently producing one of the more embarrassing courtroom performances of all time, with the judge in the case ruling that their arguments were 'without merit' and 'unsupported by evidence,'' he said. 'Trump did not succeed in Pennsylvania and he will not succeed anywhere else.'
'Trump's lawsuits will continue to fail, as they have in over 30 cases since election day, states will continue to certify their results, and Joe Biden will be sworn in as President on January 20, 2021,' he added.