OPINION:
The forces labeled as fate are not always fair. The immediate aftermath of the 2020 presidential election is shaping up as one of those times. While Democrat Joe Biden seemingly has benefited from an unexpected handout, Republican Donald Trump is simply getting the back of the hand.
On Saturday night, major American media ditched their hesitation to declare Mr. Biden the winner of the race for the White House. As Mr. Biden held leads in the key swing states of Pennsylvania, Georgia and Nevada, the chyrons crawled across TV screens, naming the former vice president as the 46th U.S. president. The 77-year-old and running mate Kamala Harris ascended the stage in Wilmington, Delaware, where he proclaimed, “This is the time to heal in America.”
As if on cue, Pfizer announced before first light on Monday that it is prepared to do exactly that. The pharmaceutical firm issued a statement saying its work on a remedy for the deadly COVID-19 virus has achieved “a vaccine efficacy rate above 90%.” Americans across the nation leaped with joy, the stock market soared and Team Biden received a gift-wrapped boost for the prospects of its new coronavirus task force.
Pfizer joined the race to develop an effective virus vaccine in record time and now stands to earn $1.95 billion from government purchase of 100 million doses. If Pfizer had released its stunning news one week earlier, economist Steve Moore tells Fox News Business, Mr. Trump would likely have been re-elected handily. Franklin D. Roosevelt might have been right when he said: “In politics, nothing happens by accident.”
Widespread flaws in the national election system suggest forces at work beyond the hand of fate. As Democrats danced to the Biden beat, no final tally is forthcoming. Ballot-counting plods along in North Carolina and Georgia, and recounts are scheduled in states where Biden margins were razor-thin.
More disturbing, irregularities have surfaced in blue regions with histories of voter fraud. Poll observers claim officials in Democrat-dominated Philadelphia impeded their scrutiny of the count process. Similar complaints erupted in Detroit as ballot-counters hid their work behind papered-over windows.
No matter: The Biden victory train had already left the station, media announced, and would not turn around. News coverage of the baffling counting process pivoted to the ministrations of the Biden-Harris transition team. Congratulatory messages from foreign leaders further reinforced the outcome.
None of it has deterred the Trump campaign from filing a flurry of lawsuits claiming various forms of election-law violation and ballot tampering. Some charges have already been dismissed as unsupported. But the president’s challenge to Pennsylvania’s late relaxation of its vote deadline could compel the U.S. Supreme Court to forbid violations of constitutional election norms.
If Mr. Trump’s challenges ultimately fail and Mr. Biden is rewarded by flawed balloting and Pfizer’s success, fair-minded Americans cannot but conclude that the man who deserves a hand for rushing the vaccine is getting slapped down instead.
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