Biden casts vote for Harris, criticizes Musk and Trump
President of the USA, Joe Biden, cast his vote for Kamala Harris in the presidential election in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday. In his speech, he also criticized Elon Musk for offering money to registered voters and Donald Trump for having discussions with Vladimir Putin.
In the state of Delaware, where the president hails from, residents have been able to vote ahead of the official election day (November 5th) for three days. Biden appeared at the Wilmington office in the morning, where he stood in a line of about 50 people. Among the voters was a man wearing a red cap with a vulgar slogan urging people to vote for Trump.
Biden responds to reports from Ukraine
After casting his vote, Biden was greeted with applause and answered reporters' questions. Asked about Elon Musk's initiative, offering millions of dollars to voters in key states in exchange for signing a political petition, he said it was "completely inappropriate." The district attorney in Philadelphia has already filed a lawsuit over this matter, and the federal prosecutor warned Musk that he might be violating election laws.
Biden was also asked about the situation involving North Korea sending thousands of soldiers to Russia, likely to support the fight against Ukraine. The president stated that this is "very dangerous." He also critically addressed the alleged secret talks between Trump and Putin. "The very idea that Kamala's (Harris) opponent is talking to Putin and discussing what should be done..." Biden said incredulously, not finishing his thought.
Journalist Bob Woodward wrote in his book War that Trump had secretly spoken with Putin several times after leaving the White House. Trump's team and the Kremlin denied these reports, and Trump only said he would not comment on them, adding that if he did talk to Putin, it would be a "smart thing."
Early voting popular among Americans
Biden is one of over 44 million Americans who have already taken advantage of early voting. Sixty million people have applied to use this form of voting, both in person and by mail.
In the 2020 election, during the COVID-19 pandemic, 101 million of more than 150 million voters participated in early voting. These proportions are likely to be lower this time, even though both parties encourage early voting. In 2020, Republicans discouraged their voters from this form of voting.
