Al Gore says 2020 election 'completely different' to his 2000 battle with George W Bush
Former VP and rival took battle to supreme court
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Former vice president Al Gore has said the state of the 2020 election is "completely different" to the conclusion of the 2000 race for the White House when he eventually lost out to George W Bush.
Mr Gore pointed out that Democrat nominee Joe Biden has more paths to victory than he did in 2000 when the battle between himself and eventual president Bush went all the way to the supreme court, which ultimately decided in favour of the latter.
“This is a completely different election from the one 20 years ago," Mr Gore told NBC News on Thursday. "And of course, I'm for him and I'm hoping that will be the case very soon".
He added: “You know, I looked at the people standing in line to vote in the middle of a pandemic. Some of them waiting in line 10, 11 hours in some cases.
"And the determination of the American people in spite of the, what they were facing, to have the largest turnout in the entire history of our country, they're heroes and they're redeeming the promise of America".
His comments came after Mr Biden had secured victory in the key battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan, turning the 'rust belt' states blue after they went red for president Donald Trump in 2016.
He has also taken Arizona, according to the Associated Press. As of Friday afternoon, the former vice president is leading in Georgia, Nevada and in his home state of Pennsylvania, all of which are yet to declare but looking good for Mr Biden.
The 2000 presidential election was not decided until weeks after polling day. Mr Gore, Like Hillary Clinton after him, won the popular vote but found himself locked out of the White House due to the electoral college system.
Mr Gore and Mr Bush went to court over Florida's then-25 electoral college votes. Justices decided by a majority of 7-2 that the Sunshine State's supreme court ruling requiring a state-wide recount of ballots was constitutional, putting Mr Bush in the White House.
Mr Gore threw in the towel the following day. “I don’t remember there being any good legal recourse left,” he recalled on Thursday. "There is no intermediate step between a final supreme court decision and violent revolution.”
“The supreme court interprets the laws. They issued an opinion,” Mr Gore added. “And to run the risk of violence in the streets without any change in the outcome seemed to me to be not in the best interests of the country.”
It remains to be seen whether president Trump will behave as diplomatically as Mr Gore did in 2000.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments