All news

US president-elect to bear the burden of healing a divided country, says expert

Given that the US society has been divided, the winner "will face a big challenge uniting the country," he noted

BRUSSELS, November 5. /TASS/. With the outcome of the ballot count still a mystery, the US presidential election has clearly shown that the American public is severely polarized and the winner will face a huge challenge of unifying a divided country, a US expert at the Brussels-based Bruegel think tank Uri Dadush told TASS on Thursday.

"It now seems very likely that [Democrat] Joe Biden will gather enough electoral votes to win, having won Michigan and Wisconsin and being on a path to win at least one of Nevada, Georgia or Pennsylvania. Biden's growing tally of votes is due to late counting of the mail-in vote, which is mainly democratic and much of which originates in urban areas," Dadush noted.

According to CNN, currently Donald Trump has a slight lead in Pennsylvania and Georgia.

"[Republican Donald] Trump has filed lawsuits claiming irregularities in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia and has demanded a recount in Wisconsin. It is not at all clear that there are valid legal grounds for these challenges, and many [Democratic-leaning experts - TASS] see Trump's tactics as a sign of desperation. These lawsuits are unlikely to make much ground, and even if one or more of them are found to have some basis, it seems unlikely that they can overturn the present trend. The fact that these challenges can take place reflect, on the one hand, the personality of the president [Trump] - who has a long history of litigiousness, and the polarization of the American electorate," the expert said.

Given that the US society has been divided, the winner "will face a big challenge uniting the country," he noted.

On November 3, American citizens headed to the polls to elect 435 representatives to the House, 35 senators out of 100 to the Senate, and the President and Vice President of the United States. In addition, voters decided on 13 US state and territorial governorships, and numerous other local elections were held. The winner of the presidential race is still not known. According to estimates, made by leading US TV channels, Joe Biden is in the lead. In order to win the race to the White House, a candidate needs 270 out of 538 electoral votes. Trump has filed lawsuits claiming irregularities in the battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia and has demanded a recount in Wisconsin, which is bound to lead to a contested outcome.