New York: after the party, the anguish

the essential
After the euphoria of Joe Biden’s announced victory, New York is witnessing, with stress, Donald Trump’s last days in the White House. With this nagging question: What can he still do to harm his opponent?

The party is over. The wave of glee, sparked by Joe Biden’s predicted victory, brought balm to the hearts of much of the country during a weekend many wished it had never ended. Nature hates a vacuum, if the relief effect is very real, the feeling of concern vis-à-vis Donald Trump quickly regained the upper hand over the outcome of this election so anxiety.

The first public outing, in the rain, of the reigning president, mute, the serious face, came to honor the veterans at Arlington National Cemetery on November 11, will not have calmed the spirits. Used to a deluge of tweets for four years, Americans are wondering what the ousted president is up to, still opposed to admitting his defeat ten days after the ballot box spoke.

“It ends up giving me a headache, sighs, behind his black cloth mask, Brian, 26, a software engineer in Manhattan, a Democratic hotspot. Joe Biden’s victory is certain, there is no doubt. but what scares me is what Trump might do before he leaves. “

Empty agenda, turbulence in sight

By January 20, the day of the installation of the 46th President of the United States, the loser still has plenty of time to play on the winner’s nerves. “Now 73 million legal votes!”, The tenant of the Oval Office, cracked in a tweet to claim his results before launching a new, “We will win” (We will win). In an atmosphere that has become untenable at the White House, Donald Trump, whose photo of the empty agenda is circulating on television channels, has set up a real war council against the fraud of which he claims to be a victim, and this, despite the gap which continues to widen to the advantage of his opponent (279 votes in favor of Joe Biden against 214 for his fierce rival) and a delay that has become impossible to fill. The remark of Mike Pompeo, questioned on the transition period, even had the effect of a bomb as regards the intentions of the president in title on the subject. “The transition will go smoothly, said the Secretary of State. It will be with the relocation of Donald Trump.”

Barring a miracle, we should therefore expect some turbulence between now and the end of the mandate of the one who “hates losing”.

Walking down 5th Avenue towards the Trump Tower, under his umbrella, in his crisp gray suit, Mike, 74, is not surprised. “We know Donald Trump in New York, launches, disillusioned, this Vietnam veteran converted into a bookseller. He will annoy Biden until the last day, that’s for sure.”

In the opposing camp, the silent majority is active. The special line set up to denounce cheating is exploding. “I came to help,” says Alice, a volunteer from Georgia where all the votes are going to be recounted. Ballots have been destroyed, dead have voted. The evidence is rising day by day. We are all behind our president. Rumors that he would raise funds to reimburse his campaign expenses or run again in 2024, or even prepare for possible legal trouble, do not seem to be holding her back.

Meanwhile, and despite the blocking procedures initiated against him by his powerful rival, Joe Biden has just appointed his staunch ally, Ron Klain, as chief of staff for his next administration. Strange image of a presidency with two heads, in an America more divided than ever.

“Let’s be careful, anything can still happen”

Laurence

Haïm

LCI correspondent in Washington DC and specialist in American politics.

Can we say, a week later, that Joe Biden won the election?

In terms of the voters, yes. Joe Biden won the election and becomes the president-elect. But Donald Trump wants to recount the votes because for him, there has been cheating, determining states where the score was very tight, intimidation of voters, deaths who voted … For him, Biden would not have won than 259 votes from the electorate. It is the first time in the history of the United States that we have an elected president and a president in office who refuses to concede victory and to leave.

What do his Republican voters think?

There are 72 million people who voted for Donald Trump and who have also remained silent so far. What we do know is that the Republicans who were against Trump when he was elected in 2016, such as the George W. Bush clan or Mitt Romney, are the first to criticize him and support Biden. But apart from this minority, his supporters do not let go. There will be a pro-Trump protest staged in Washington on Saturday. And on the other hand, Democratic voters believe they won. We are dealing with a completely divided America. There are a lot of uncertainties and a certain anxiety.

Until when will Donald Trump be able to contest this election?

Article 2 of the US Constitution provides that the current president remains in office until January 20 at noon. But everyone thinks the key date will be December 14, which is when the big voters come together to elect the president. But let’s be careful, anything can still happen.

Can he really get the votes reversed?

We will have to watch what will happen in Georgia, where there was 14011 votes of difference and where the secretary of state said there was doubt and called for a manual recount. We will also have to look at the situation in Michigan and Arizona, where trials are starting. In Pennsylvania too, where the gap is in favor of Joe Biden.

What will happen if Donald Trump does not give up?

We’ve never seen that, so no one can tell. The only one who knows what can happen is Donald Trump. The ball is in his court, he can withdraw and validate the results or else say that there was cheating and ignite the United States.