Running Mate

As the votes are still being counted in a race with razor thin margins and the President Trump camp already starting legal action to delegitimise vote counts in key swing states, the election is the par for the chaos course Trump wants it to be. Graeme Demianyk talks with HuffPost senior reporter Emily Peck and White House correspondent Shirish Date about how we got here - and when and how this election might end.

That’s it, after months and months of rancorous campaigning, a global pandemic that’s hit America harder than most and more lies, mistruths and conspiracy theories than your average season of The X Files, we’re finally at the point where Americans vote who they want to be president.Here’s everything you need to know before the fateful vote.

The 2020 election has been like no other. Derailed by the global pandemic and in the shadow of a looming economic crisis, president Donald Trump has lagged behind his competitor Joe Biden for most of the campaign. But do the polls tell the real story or are there “shy Trumpers” out there?Ariel Edwards-Levy and Paul Blumenthal explain to Graeme Demianyk what to look out for on election night and which states will reveal who is most likely to end up residing in the White House for the next four years, while Jeffrey Young lays out America’s healthcare system.

The 2016 race will go down in history for many reasons but one key motif has often been overlooked: America’s sexism. Hilary Clinton’s run for president seemed to be held back by her sex, her campaign bringing into stark focus the boys club that is American politics. So why is the deck still so stacked against female politicians in the US, when other countries have been led by women for decades? And will there ever be a female president when America punishes women for traits that voters accept - or even like - in male politicians? 

Armed militia in the streets, an anonymous online personality "revealing" the deep-state conspiracies of government, a president who actively avoids paying taxes whilst stuffing institutions with cronies and partisan appointments while TV news gives a platform to whoever can shout loudest. America, are you feeling ok?

Billed as the dementia debates, the first TV debate between the president and challenger is happening. Does it matter though? The personalities of both Joe Biden and Donald Trump are ingrained in the minds of American citizens so will they sway anyone to swap sides? And how will the effects of the coronavirus pandemic change the debates this time round?Jen Benedry and Igor Bobic join Graeme Demianyk to talk through what this year’s debates will bring, while Will Tooke looks at the iconic moments of past TV debates.

Tess Owens from Vice News and Cordelia Lynch from Sky News join Graeme Demianyk to discuss what it’s like covering US politics from a British perspective. Whether it’s the partisan news channels or events where everyone is carrying a gun, the differences between America and the UK feel like a chasm when it comes to politics.Also in the episode, John Scardino talks about being an American abroad and what that feels like as the world watches on the series of lies, protests, shootings and a chaotic political landscape.

The deaths of two protesters by an armed teenager in Kenosha, following the shooting of Jacob Blake by police officers, raised the spectre once again that Donald Trump’s unwillingness to condemn far-right fringe groups is fuelling their rise in American discourse. Andy Campbell and Chris Mathias have been looking at the rise of the far-right and their route to the White House and answer Graeme Demianyk’s questions on whether extremism has taken over US politics, while Jiore Craig, VP at GQR explains how disinformation tactics online have put rocket boosters under the far-right agenda.