Biden had intended to make a victory speech, but the media seems oddly reluctant to call the election. That reluctance is odd enough that people are speculating as to why, suggesting that media administrators are afraid of the president’s fury or eager to milk the cliff-hanger situation for viewers.

What has stood out today is the degree to which Trump and his team have governed by creating their own reality. Now that that image is being challenged, they are flailing.

Virtually no one is suggesting that Trump could win the popular vote, and his campaign’s plan is simply to get enough Democratic votes thrown out in swing states that he can win those electoral votes and clinch the election. Never before in our history has a candidate openly planned to win an election by gaming the system, but here we are.

This already blows away the 47 million who voted early in 2016, with a week and a day to go. And that tells you approximately nothing about the outcome of the presidential election or any other race on the ballot.

When Trump leaves office, he will lose the US Department of Justice as his personal law firm. He will lose Attorney General William Barr as his wingman. And he will lose his power to undermine the rule of law. That’s the prism through which to view all of his re-election efforts. In fact, the moment that Trump is no longer president, he’ll face potential criminal charges: He is “Individual-1” in the federal case against Michael Cohen ...