President Trump’s challenge of Saturday’s election call for Joe Biden has many Americans flashing back to the bitter battle for the White House that was decided 20 years ago by the US Supreme Court.
But while Trump’s stance is reminiscent of Democrat Al Gore — who unlike Trump, initially conceded the 2000 race to Republican George W. Bush, then quickly reversed course and demanded a Florida recount — nearly everything else is different this time.
Back then, the dispute centered solely on the results in Florida, but now Trump is pressing claims of illegal voting and other alleged irregularities in a growing number of swing states, with scant evidence made public thus far.
In addition, the basic argument of both sides has flipped, with Republicans now demanding deep dives into the vote tallies, while in 2000 it was Democrats who wanted to continue the controversial recount in the Sunshine State.
And although the 2000 margin in Florida began with less than 600 votes in favor of Bush — and narrowed even further before the recount was stopped — Trump faces daunting odds of reversing Biden’s various state leads, which now exceed 46,000 in the crucial battleground of Pennsylvania alone.
Lawyer David Boies, who led Gore’s losing legal team in 2000, told USA Today, “Basically, the election is over.”
“There isn’t anything that has come out that could plausibly affect the outcome,” Boies insisted Monday. “There’s no legal avenue for the Trump campaign to plausibly dispute the results in any one state.”
But such pronouncements haven’t dissuaded Trump, who on Tuesday morning tweeted, “BALLOT COUNTING ABUSE!” in a message flagged by Twitter as “disputed.”
“Highly Respected Ken Starr: ‘Pennsylvania’s three-day extension of the mail-in ballot deadline is a Constitutional Travesty.’ Legal scholars agree!,” the president added.
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