Trump, Biden confident of big victory as the US goes for polls
Washington: US President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden on Tuesday exuded confidence of a big victory in the presidential polls as Americans in large numbers headed to cast their ballots to decide the fate of the two leaders in the world's most significant democratic exercise.
Trump predicted that a red wave would re-elect him to the White House, while his Democratic challenger Biden is confident of a big win .
Addressing as many as five election rallies in as many states on the last day of the campaigning, Trump exuded confidence of winning the race with a much greater margin.
We are gonna have a red wave. It's gonna be a beautiful sight, Trump told thousands of his supporters in Wisconsin on Monday.
At his last rally at Grand Rapids in Michigan, which passed midnight, Trump asked his supporters to give him a bit bigger margin of victory.
"We want to do it just like last time. ..but give me a little more margin than last time," the president told his cheering supporters who had waited for him for hours in the bitter Michigan cold.
The level of enthusiasm and I think you are going to see a great red wave tomorrow, Trump, 74, told his supporters in Florida.
Meanwhile, Biden, 77, at an event in Pittsburgh on Monday, which was headlined by popular singer Lady Gaga, said he is confident of a big win.
Folks, I have a feeling we're coming together for a big win tomorrow, he said.
Tomorrow, we can put an end to a presidency that has left hard-working Americans out in the cold. Tomorrow we can put an end to a presidency that has fanned the flames of hatred.
"Tomorrow we can put an end to a presidency that has failed to protect this nation said the former vice president.
Biden continues to lead over Trump with the polls indicating that the margin between the two leaders.
In the key battleground states, the average lead of Biden by Tuesday morning has reduced to 2.3 percent, according to Real Clear Politics which keeps track of all major opinion polls.
This is within the margin of error. The top battleground States are Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Arizona.
Biden's average national lead is not 6.7 percentage points, according to Real Clear Politics.
Nate Silver from FiveThirtyEight.Com, which is known for the prediction of election results, said that Biden is favored to win the election.
Our model forecasts Biden to win the popular vote by 8 percentage points, 1 more than twice Clinton's projected margin at the end of 2016," Silver said on Tuesday.
Indeed, some of the dynamics that allowed Trump to prevail in 2016 wouldn't seem to exist this year. There are considerably fewer undecided voters in this race just 4.8 percent of voters say they're undecided or plan to vote for third-party candidates, as compared to 12.5 percent at the end of 2016. And the polls have been considerably more stable this year than they were four years ago, he wrote.
"Finally, unlike the 'Comey letter' in the closing days of the campaign four years ago when then-FBI Director James Comey told Congress that new evidence had turned up pertinent to the investigation into the private email server that Clinton used as secretary of state there's been no major development in the final 10 days to further shake up the race, Silver said.
According to The Hill newspaper, the key to the White House depends on the election results of five states Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia, North Carolina, and Arizona.
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Accused gunman at correspondents' dinner was believed to be targeting top officials, Blanche says
Washington (AP): The accused gunman who tried to storm the ballroom at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner with guns and knives travelled across the country before the event and is believed to have been targeting members of the Trump administration, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday.
Blanche also said officials believe the suspect traveled by train from California to Chicago and then on to Washington, where in recent days he checked in as a guest to the hotel where one of Washington's glitziest events was being held Saturday night.
Investigators have not publicly named the suspect, but two law enforcement officials familiar with the matter have identified him to The Associated Press as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California.
Law enforcement officials who have examined the gunman's electronic devices and his writings preliminarily believe he intended to target administration members in attendance at the dinner. He attempted to charge into the cavernous ballroom at the Washington Hilton but was tackled to the ground in a chaotic scene that resulted in shots being fired, President Donald Trump being hurried off the stage and guests ducking for cover beneath their tables.
“It does appear that he did in fact set out to target folks who work in the administration, likely including the president,” Blanche told NBC's “Meet the Press.”
The suspect is believed to have purchased the firearms he carried within the last couple of years, Blanche said. He is not being cooperative and is expected to face multiple charges on Monday.
Video posted by Trump showed the suspect running past security barricades as Secret Service agents ran toward him. One officer was shot in a bullet-resistant vest but was recovering, officials said. The gunman was taken into custody and was not injured, but was being evaluated at a hospital, police said.
“He failed,” Blanche said on CBS's “Face the Nation.” “Law enforcement did their jobs.”
Social media posts that appear to match the suspect show he is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer.
A May 2025 profile photo of Allen appears to match the appearance of the man in a photo of the alleged attacker being taken into custody that was posted Saturday night by Trump. The photo, posted to the social networking site LinkedIn, shows him in a cap and gown after graduating with a master's degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills.
Allen earned a bachelor's degree in 2017 in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He listed his involvement there in a Christian student fellowship and a campus group that battled with Nerf guns.
The shooting at the security barricades happened minutes after the event got underway.
The Secret Service and other authorities swarmed the room as guests ducked under tables by the hundreds. Gasps echoed through the ballroom as guests realized something was happening. Hundreds of journalists immediately got on phones to call in information.
“Out of the way, sir!” someone yelled. Others yelled to duck. From one corner, a “God Bless America” chant began as the president was escorted offstage. Outside the hotel, members of the National Guard and other authorities flooded the area as helicopters circled overhead.
After an initial attempt to resume the event, it was scrapped for the night and will be rescheduled.
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