Close race means Americans did not reject Trump: pollster

MANILA - The close race in the 2020 US presidential elections meant that President Donald Trump was not rejected by the American public, according to an American public opinion pollster.

No winner emerged on election night Wednesday as vote counting is expected to continue over the next few days as the race in a few key battleground states were too close to call.

"Because this race is so close, no matter who wins, we can draw the conclusion that Donald Trump was not repudiated by the public," John Zogby, founder of Zogby Strategies, said in a briefing with selected journalists participating in the virtual reporting tour on the US Elections organized by the US Department of State’s Foreign Press Centers.

"We can also draw the conclusion that Joe Biden, if he wins, did not get a strong, ringing endorsement from the voting public," he said.

"So, we are where we have been pretty much most of the time over the last 20 years, and that is, at a deadlock, a tie," he said.

Polls indicate Trump did well among voters whose top issue was the economy and among those who wanted a strong leader. 

Biden was the top choice among those who identified racial inequality and the COVID-19 pandemic as top issues, and among those who put premium in a leader’s good judgment and capability to produce national unity, according to the study.

Trump and Biden tied on the question of who between them were seen by voters as more empathetic. 

More voters who made up their minds in the last few days before election day went for Trump. 

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