News organizations were preparing Friday for a possibly decisive call in the 2020 presidential race, even as President Donald Trump and his allies continued to lie about the integrity of the election and make baseless claims about voter fraud.
Cable news networks had their A-list anchors at the ready in anticipation of a historic call, but the urgency of the morning gave way to a hurry-up-and-wait mood as ballot counters in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania continued their work.
The anchors made plenty of references to Trump’s narrowing path to victory as on-screen graphics showed Joe Biden closing in on the 270 electoral votes needed to secure the White House, but the network decision desks were in charge. With no decisive call and hours to fill, the solution was to vamp.