CNN calls election for Joe Biden

By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief | 07 November 2020

CNN becomes the first network to call the US election race for Joe Biden - but FOX News does not initially follow suit.

CNN has become the first network to call the election race, naming Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States.

For the last three days every network has been stalled short of the 270 electoral college votes Biden needed to unseat Donald Trump in the White House but now CNN has projected that Pennsylvania will go blue.

Veteran CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer announced the news at 11.24am ET, saying: "We've reached a historic moment in this election. We can now project the winner of the Presidential race.

"CNN projects that Joseph R Biden Jr is elected the 46th President of the United States, winning the White House and denying President Trump a second term."

Within minutes of the call, Sky News and the BBC followed suit, whereas at the same moment FOX News called Alaska for Trump, leaving Biden still short according to their projection.

Biden's triumph means that Kamala Harris will become the first female Vice-President in the history of the US as well as the first person of colour in that role.

Trump, meanwhile, appears to still be refusing to accept the result of the race, tweeting an hour before the call: "I WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!"

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