Trump intends to sulk as long as he can get away with it.

The president, who has spent months trying to undermine the election results with unproven allegations of fraud, pledged on Saturday to go forward with a legal strategy that he hopes will overturn state results that gave Biden the win in Tuesday’s vote.

Not gonna happen.

The president’s allies and advisers privately admitted that the former New York businessman’s chances of overturning the election results and staying in the White House were slim. While preparing for an eventual concession, they called for time to let the legal challenges run their course.

…

Republicans are trying to raise at least $60 million to fund legal challenges in several states,

More congratulatings.

Chancellor #Merkel congratulates @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris. #Election2020 pic.twitter.com/A9Vwy1XYAR

— Steffen Seibert (@RegSprecherStS) November 7, 2020

They won’t be throwing candies in her face.

The Americans have chosen their President. Congratulations @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris! We have a lot to do to overcome today’s challenges. Let's work together!

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) November 7, 2020

Allons-y!

Congratulations President-elect @JoeBiden & @KamalaHarris on your victory in the US Presidential election. With so many issues facing the international community, your message of unity is one we share. New Zealand looks forward to working with you both! https://t.co/VTGRM4mHEK

— Jacinda Ardern (@jacindaardern) November 7, 2020

https://twitter.com/MichealMartinTD/status/1325115676873388035

I feel like our ancestors are rejoicing.

For the first time, a Black and South

Parteeeeee.

Almost as soon as television networks called the presidential race Saturday morning for former vice president Joe Biden, his supporters began flocking to the streets. The celebrations that ensued — unbridled jubilation, dancing, singing and chanting — represented a release of emotions after an excruciating four-day wait for the election results, but also of a release of four years of pent-up frustration and anger at President Trump, some said.

“Some” as in many millions.

In New York, the show of support was especially reminiscent of the early days of the pandemic, when residents poured out of their apartments nightly to applaud hospital workers and first responders risking their lives to treat coronavirus patients. Shouting and music could be

No.

Now is the time for every Biden supporter to reach out to one person who voted for Trump.

Empathize with them.

Tell them you know how they feel (you do, from 2016).

Come up with one issue you can agree on.

— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) November 7, 2020

One, no, because Trump is evil, transparently evil, so no we’re not going to be extra special nice to the fans of an evil sadist 5 minutes after he lost the election. (Also ever.)

But two, no we do not feel the same. This isn’t just about losing and winning, this is about voting for an evil sadist and not doing that. The feelings on losing are not the same.… Read the rest

Meanwhile, back in Loserville –

At least five people within President Donald Trump’s orbit have tested positive for coronavirus, including his chief of staff and a top campaign aide, becoming the latest administration officials to be infected with the virus after a string of outbreaks in the West Wing.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, top campaign aide Nick Trainer, who has been crunching the numbers when it comes to election data, and at least three other people in the White House, including a deputy for Meadows, have tested positive, multiple sources told CNN.

And have they been wearing masks and distancing, or better yet staying home? Of course not.

Trump campaign staffers told CNN they are furious because

Heads of state are breathing a HUGE SIGH OF RELIEF.

Congratulations, @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris. Our two countries are close friends, partners, and allies. We share a relationship that’s unique on the world stage. I’m really looking forward to working together and building on that with you both.

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) November 7, 2020

Remember when Trump tried to yank Trudeau’s arm off at the front door of the White House? And failed because Trudeau was expecting it and stiff-armed him with the other hand?

Congratulations to President Elect @JoeBiden. We look forward to working with the new #USA Administration to reinforce transatlantic relations and cooperate on global issues, such as climate change, defense of democracy and international

Aw yeah.

People celebrate on Black Lives Matter plaza across from the White House in Washington, DC, after Joe Biden was projected as the winner of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. pic.twitter.com/VXjg85T7AR

— Breaking News (@BreakingNews) November 7, 2020

https://twitter.com/spettypi/status/1325124292124827648

LOOK: Hundreds gather on Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C. to celebrate after Joe Biden was declared the 46th president of the United States #Election2020 https://t.co/npZTrF32bG pic.twitter.com/dlZQwcQ5NW

— Bloomberg Originals (@bbgoriginals) November 7, 2020

(Now disperse quickly – lots of aerosols with all that screaming.)

Cheers erupt in DC from apartments as Press calls election for Biden @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/M4wE3H7d5z

— Mark Segraves (@SegravesNBC4) November 7, 2020

Black Lives Matter Plaza, Harlem #Election2020 pic.twitter.com/DEjBvcfKvZ

— Nia K. Phillips (@Nia_Official) November

Sidney Blumenthal says Trump’s struggles will be NO USE.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe sent a team to view the American election, a routine exercise they have performed nine previous times. But this time they were shocked by what they observed. “Nobody – no politician, no elected official, nobody – should limit the people’s right to vote,” said Michael Georg Link, a member of the German parliament who led the group. “Baseless allegations of systematic deficiencies, notably by the incumbent president, including on election night, harm public trust in democratic institutions.”

This was his last chance to shame us.

Apart from the next few weeks, which is another bad holdover from the 18th century, but he’s … Read the rest

Tom Frank says yes hooray but let’s not forget that it’s the Democratic Party’s move away from the working class to centrist pro-biz policies that got us to Trump. Me, I doubt that it’s quite that simple or direct or cut and dried, but on the other hand the move is undeniable.

Biden’s instinct, naturally, will be to govern as he always legislated: as a man of the center who works with Republicans to craft small-bore, business-friendly measures. After all, Biden’s name is virtually synonymous with Washington consensus. His years in the US Senate overlap almost precisely with his party’s famous turn to the “third way” right, and Biden personally played a leading role in many of the signature

The fun part –

President Trump is now the first incumbent president to lose reelection since George H.W. Bush in 1992. #Election2020

— The Associated Press (@AP) November 7, 2020

Trump LOST. He LOST. He’s a LOSER. He LOST.

He’s fired. We fired him. You’re FIRED, Dumb Donny. Get out. Leave the silver where it is. We’ll be checking your luggage.

Chris Wallace: "I think it's going to be increasingly untenable [for Trump] because I think you're going to start to see a lot of the Republican leaders, who realize their fortunes and futures are no longer tied to Donald Trump, are going to begin to pull back." pic.twitter.com/uxEtXInqOG

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 7, 2020

Gonna lose all your … Read the rest

BREAKING: JOE BIDEN WILL BE PRESIDENT-ELECT, NBC NEWS PROJECTS. https://t.co/gGS2tyKRy9 pic.twitter.com/s17hCZDvBR

— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 7, 2020

… Read the rest

Another detail of Bannon’s beheading fantasy:

Speaking on his podcast, the War Room, which was distributed in video form on a number of social media outlets, the far-right provocateur appeared to endorse violence against Wray and the US’s most senior infectious diseases expert.

“Second term kicks off with firing Wray, firing Fauci … no I actually want to go a step farther but the president is a kind-hearted man and a good man,” Bannon said.

Ahhhhhhhh no. No he’s not. That’s the very thing he isn’t. It’s the very worst thing about him – the all too obvious fact that there isn’t the tiniest trace of ordinary normal human sympathy and kindness in him. He could see a … Read the rest

This brave new world…

Twitter permanently suspended an account associated with former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon after he suggested in a video posted online Thursday that Dr. Anthony Fauci and FBI Director Christopher Wray should be beheaded.

Bannon made the comments calling for medieval violence during a livestream of his talk show and podcast, War Room: Pandemic.

“I’d put the heads on pikes. Right. I’d put them at the two corners of the White House. As a warning to federal bureaucrats: Either get with the program or you’re gone,” he said in the now-deleted video previously posted on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. However, it has been recirculated through other accounts.

Totally normal, right? We know Fauci … Read the rest

State of play:

Joe Biden appears to be on the cusp of the victory in the US presidential election, as the Democratic nominee grows his leads in Pennsylvania and Nevada.

“Grows his leads”? His leads grow, or increase, but he’s not “growing” them, like a tomato patch. Get a grip.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

Biden now leads Donald Trump by 13,220 votes in Pennsylvania, but the AP has not yet declared a winner in the state. Biden is clearly intending to declare victory, with plans to deliver a primetime address tonight.

Georgia will hold a recount to settle the virtual tie between Biden and Trump in the state. As of now, Biden leads Trump by

Trump has issued another official whine.

“We believe the American people deserve to have full transparency into all vote counting and election certification, and that this is no longer about any single election. This is about the integrity of our entire election process,” Trump said.

Hahaha that’s funny. No it’s not. Nothing Trump does is ever about anything other than Trump.

“From the beginning we have said that all legal ballots must be counted and all illegal ballots should not be counted, yet we have met resistance to this basic principle by Democrats at every turn. We will pursue this process through every aspect of the law to guarantee that the American people have confidence in our government. I

Oh and there’s this.

CNN: Mark Kelly wins AZ senate seat. Arizona will now have two democratic senators. Stunning.

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) November 6, 2020

Arizona. Barry Goldwater country.

The vermin exodus has begun.

Sources close to the White House said some senior officials inside the White House and the campaign are beginning to quietly back away from Trump, in acts of self-preservation, as the returns in Pennsylvania and Georgia indicate the President will not win reelection. https://t.co/Pi50hRjavO

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) November 6, 2020

There is a battle over strategy right now, according to a source close to WH. Trump is telling people he wants to take these lawsuits up until December when the electors certify. Many around

Trump “has no plans to concede.”

Naturally.

In conversations with allies in recent days, President Trump has said he has no intention to concede the election to Joe Biden, even if his path to a second term in office is effectively blocked by losses in places like Georgia and Pennsylvania. 

That’s Trump for you. Just Say No.

Aides, including his chief of staff Mark Meadows, have not attempted to bring Trump to terms [with] what’s happening and have instead fed his baseless claim that the election is being stolen from him.

Trump’s allies have grown concerned that someone is going to have to reckon with [telling] the President that his time in office is potentially coming to an end, though

It seems that Biden is now far enough ahead in Pennsylvania that it’s game over.

Biden will almost certainly pull off a comfortable win in Pennsylvania with 40,000 to 100,000 votes depending on who’s back of the envelope math you want to believe. But, the state may not be called for a few hours yet.

Speaking at a press conference, Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney was asked for his response to Trump’s baseless accusations of voter fraud in the city.

Kenney replied, “I think what the president needs to do is, frankly, put his big boy pants on. He needs to acknowledge the fact that he has lost, and he needs to congratulate the winner.”

No doubt Princess Ivanka will persuade … Read the rest

Maggie Haberman on that press conference full of lies:

President Trump broke a two-day silence with reporters to deliver a brief statement filled with egregious falsehoods and smears about the election process as workers in a handful of states continued to tabulate votes.

The president painted the election results so far as part of a broad conspiracy to deprive him of a second term by Democrats, election officials in various cities and the news media.

“If you count the legal votes, I easily win,” Mr. Trump began when he took the podium in the White House briefing room, a false statement that cast aspersion on the rest of the election. He offered no evidence; instead, he listed a series

This is it.

Trump opens his news conference by saying "if you count the legal vote, I easily win. If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us." This is a lie. There is no evidence of election fraud. pic.twitter.com/BAVSazAmLr

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 5, 2020

"It's going to end up, perhaps, at the highest court of the land" — Trump is really gonna try and steal this election. If he succeeds the US will no longer be a democracy. pic.twitter.com/gHp0B0ypjJ

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 6, 2020

"As you know, I've claimed certain states," Trump says, as though calling dibs means he's won. He then walks off without taking any questions.