Trump ‘feels very good’ as Americans come out to vote in large numbers

Washington: US President Donald Trump said he felt good about his chances for victory as election day opened Tuesday, predicting that he would register big wins in key states such as Florida and Arizona.

“We feel very good,” a hoarse-voiced Trump told Fox News in a phone interview.

Trump said he expected victory in all the key states that will decide the election, but said he would not “play games” by declaring his win too early.

“We think we are winning Texas very big. We think we are winning Florida very big. We think we are winning Arizona very big,” he said.

“I think we are going to do very well in North Carolina. I think we are going to do well in Pennsylvania. We think we are doing very well everywhere.”

Running behind in most opinion polls, Trump bashed Democratic opponent Joe Biden, “biased” media and the “extreme” left as he repeated his argument for reelection to four more years in the White House.
“Joe Biden is not prime time” he said.

Trump called it “terrible” and “dangerous” that millions of votes mailed in might still not be counted on Wednesday.

But he downplayed allegations that he planned to prematurely declare victory Tuesday evening before enough of the vote is tallied to determine the winner.

“I think we’ll have victory, but only when there’s victory,” he said.
“There’s no reason to play games.”

Meanwhile, Americans were voting in large numbers on Tuesday in one of the most divisive bitter presidential elections in decades.

Amidst a resurgent COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 100 million people have already cast their ballots in early voting, putting the country on course for its highest turnout in a century. Some 239 million people are eligible to vote this year. The mail-in ballots could take days or weeks to be counted in some states – meaning a winner might not be declared in the hours after polls close on Tuesday.

Urging people to place faith in him and his running mate Kamala Harris, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said together they can “heal the soul of this nation” and they won’t let the people down.

“In 2008 and 2012, you placed your trust in me to help lead this country alongside Barack Obama. Today, I’m asking for your trust once again — this time, in Kamala and me. We can heal the soul of this nation — I promise we won’t let you down,” he tweeted.

The eve of Election Day 2020 was packed with rallies; US President Donald Trump visited four battlegrounds states Monday — North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin — while his Democratic challenger Joe Biden spent his day in Pennsylvania supported by former president Barack Obama, who made stops in Florida and Ohio.

Polls will open and close across the US at different times Tuesday, anywhere after 6 am and before 9 pm local time. India is between 10½ and 13½ hours ahead, depending on where in the US you’re looking. However, over 100 million people have already casted their votes, according to a tally by the US Elections Project at the University of Florida. Due to this, counting of votes could take longer as some states won’t start opening ballots until polling day. (With inputs from Agencies)