2020 Election (CH)

The 2020 United States presidential election took place on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2020. The Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris defeated incumbent Republican President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.

The election took place during one of the most momentous years in American history, a year marred by a global pandemic, civil unrest due to police brutality and racial inequality, and economic collapse. As a result, Trump's approval rating at one point dipped below 35%, one of the lowest ever approval ratings for a first term president.

Despite concerns over Biden's lack of appeal to young voters, the election featured the highest youth turnout in American history and the highest overall turnout in over a century. Biden received the most votes ever for a presidential candidate.

COVID-19 Impact on Election
COVID-19 played a major role on the campaign trail. Both Trump and Biden were unable to hold rallies around the country throughout the summer, with Biden holding virtual rallies and town halls and Trump campaigning during press briefings.

On Labor Day, two months before the election, Trump tweeted that he would start to hold rallies around the country again with limited capacity due to the pandemic, beginning with Dallas, Texas later that week. Biden would follow, holding small events on the campaign trail.

Fall Months
Heading into the fall, Biden held a massive lead over Trump in swing states that Trump had won in 2016, such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Arizona. The lead increased even further when Biden announced at the Democratic National Convention that he would run for just one term, attempting to reach out to Republicans and Bernie Sanders supporters.

With the economy slowly improving, Trump's once historically low approval rating began to slowly climb back to 40% around October. Biden's massive leads in swing states began to decrease. Trump was also thought to have won the presidential debates, and became the betting favorite to win the election for the first time since May in mid-October.

However, Trump's campaign took a major hit in late October, when Utah senator and 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney and former Republican president George W. Bush endorsed Biden. Both cited Trump's erratic behavior and explained that while they disagreed with many of Biden's policies, America needed to rediscover its soul. Bush's endorsement meant that every living president had endorsed Biden. The night before the election, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Bush, and Barack Obama all took the stage and campaigned for Biden in Philadelphia.

Election Night
Biden entered Election Night as the heavy favorite to unseat Trump, but most noted that the election had a similar feel to 2016 and that a Trump victory would not be shocking. However, early returns showed a massive lead for Biden in swing states such as Pennsylvania and Michigan, and any hope for a Trump second term were dashed when Biden won Florida. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Arizona, all of which went for Trump in 2016, flipped blue in 2020. Trump, despite previous threats to refuse to concede if the election was not conducted fairly, called Biden to concede at 11:30 PM EST. Biden then spoke to a small group of supporters in Philadelphia, proclaiming victory and promising to restore decency to the White House. Trump, despite conceding the election, declined to speak on Election Night.

Aftermath
During the final two months of the Trump administration, Trump attempted to push many of the agendas he had planned for his second term, but was largely unsuccessful. Despite a positive meeting with Biden at the White House the day after the election, Trump attacked Biden relentlessly during his final months as president, saying that he was going to destroy the country and that he was America's only hope.

Trump refused to attend Biden's Inauguration Day, becoming the first sitting president to do so. Instead, Trump left the White House on his private helicopter at 10:12 AM EST, moments before the Biden's arrived at their new home for the next four years. Trump's decision was largely criticized by both Republicans and Democrats, but seemingly inspired Republican senators Tom Cotton and Mike Braun, who both boycotted the Inauguration. On the final day of Trump's presidency, his approval rating was just 28%, and just 72% in his own party.