Did Donald Trump already "win" the 2020 election? In some ways, maybe he has. "Win" is in quotes because no matter the actual outcome, Trump will act like he won the election. There is no reason to expect anything different after years of him claiming victory for other people's accomplishments, as well as his own failures. If Donald Trump considers 200,000+ deaths in the United States from the Coronavirus a job well done, you can expect him to consider an election loss another win as well.
The question is what will he do about it?
Will Trump really try to stay in office even if he loses the election? He has already said that he thinks that the result of the election will end up in the hands of the Supreme Court, which is a sign that he expects to lose and still act like he won. By constantly casting doubt on the election system and already predicting a court appointed President, Trump has caused confusion for millions of voters who may be planning to vote against him.
And it goes back further than Trump's recent comments about mail in ballots and the supreme court. His lack of leadership on masks and social distancing during a global pandemic has led to his fans following the example set by the President. Combine this with pushing for in person voting on election day, and we can expect mostly maskless republicans will be willing to risk their lives to vote in person when they could have done so weeks or months earlier safely and securely by mail. This leaves a majority of mail-in ballots to be in favor of candidate Joe Biden, some of which will not be able to be counted until after election night. That's OK. That's legal. But Trump will pretend like it's not.
Trump's Master Plan
There is no secret plan - Trump has already told the world what cards he plans to play after the election. His claim will be that as of election night, the votes that had been counted show him to be the victor - and that the votes counted after the fact don't matter and are subject to fraud. As votes are tallied and it becomes clear that Joe Biden is the winner of the 2020 Presidential Election, Trump is unlikely to concede and to everything that he can do delay the transfer of power. What comes next is up to Republicans.
Does this mean that democrats should go vote in person on Election Day? Maybe? The answer should be a resounding "no," but if the vote was overwhelming before or on election day in swing states, Trump's master plan could be foiled.
Vote For Real, and Then Vote Online
Have you already cast you ballot for the 2020 Presidential Election? Early voting? Mail in Ballot? Once you have taken care of your official vote, take 30 seconds to Vote For The President Online on our site. This mock online ballot has accumulated over 1 million votes in the last 2 elections, and the 2020 election should be even bigger!