President Donald Trump — he'll have that title at least until Jan. 20, we pray, and not beyond — was his dangerous, mendacious, reckless, strongman-aping self at 2:20 a.m. ET Wednesday morning, as he proclaimed to the nation, "Frankly, we did win this election." That is not a hopeful prediction. It is a lie, another in his endless list of falsehoods. Trump could prevail over Joe Biden when the remaining states are resolved, but that hasn't happened yet.
Unlike the Bush-Gore contest in 2000, this time there are five Floridas: Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Also unlike 2000, all have lots of votes still uncounted, caused by the COVID crush of mail and early ballots, which aren't tabulated as quickly as those cast on Election Day.
Since Trump is up as of this writing, he's ready to call it over. In his warped view, finishing the legal counting of legal ballots legally cast and mailed is stealing the election from him.
We knew this hissy fit would happen. We knew it could risk a fair election. Before our eyes, it's happening.
The big baby is nervous that when remaining legitimate votes are counted — votes cast by mail are skewing heavily Democratic — some of these states may fall to Joe Biden, allowing the challenger to cobble together an Electoral College majority. So far the only state that has switched columns since 2016 is Arizona, which went for Biden.
Trump proclaims, "we'll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court. We want all voting to stop." The voting did stop. He wants to halt the counting. In trying to demand a second term, he reminds the electorate of the powerful reasons to end his presidency after a first.
In Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin, mail ballots must arrive by Election Day, so they'll be tallied proto. It's more complicated in the other two. North Carolina mail ballots must arrive by Nov. 12, which U.S. Supreme Court upheld on a 5-3 vote.
Pennsylvania is even hairier. The state's highest court ruled that ballots arriving three days after voting are valid, on which U.S. Supreme Court deadlocked on a 4-4 vote. New Justice Amy Coney Barrett could tip that balance. So much remains ahead.
And if it gets real close, mail ballots might be challenged by one side or the other as to signatures or postmarks or envelopes.
Trump frothed about "a fraud on the American public," and "a major fraud in our nation." The only fraud is the one in the White House.
