The results from several states are still too close to call, so American voters don't know whether it will be Donald Trump or Joe Biden occupying the White House for the next four years.

President Trump has been widely criticized for claiming victory.

Atten early stage on for questioning the validity of postal votes without producing any evidence.

Joe Biden's team say they're confident on that they will claim victory when the votes have been counted well, so far, 43 off the 50 states have declared their results with the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden, on 243 votes in the Electoral College on the Republican Donald Trump on 214 the number needed to win overall on to occupy the White House is 270.

So we'll have the story off a dramatic and rather volatile 24 hours.

We'll be looking at the results to come on.

We'll be asking what this election says about the state off US democracy.

We're going to start in Washington with our North America editor John sopa Hugh.

Thank you.

Yes, The Democratic Party was hoping to win so decisively last night that it would prove that Donald Trump's victory in 2016 was an aberration.

Ah, foolish holiday romance with the American people that had come to an end.

That didn't happen.

Donald Trump got more votes last night than he did in 2016.

But that said, Joe Biden has won more votes than any presidential candidate in history on.

But the moment as things stand, the momentum is shifting towards Joe Biden, the hoopla of election night in the US And as the polls closed, the Democrats are talking bullishly.

Joe Biden's on a smooth path to victory.

Smooth what a fantasy that's turned out to be.

Donald Trump was performing way better than the polls had predicted.

Nowhere more so than Florida, the Sunshine State that was once again, Ah, black cloud for Democrats, CBS News projects.

President Trump has won Florida.

What is this happening here?

But then Fox made a big cool for Joe Biden out West.

The Fox News Decision desk is calling Arizona for Joe Biden.

That is a big get.

Maybe the 77 year old could still win.

It was clear he thought so.

Just after midnight, he came out and told his supporters, This I'm here to tell you tonight we believe we're on track to win this election way new because of the unprecedented early vote in the mail and vote, there's gonna take a while.

We're gonna have to be patient until the hard work of tallying votes is finished and it ain't over until every vote is counted.

Every ballot is counted.

That brought an immediate and furious response from the president tweeting that the Democrats were trying to steal the election on.

Then it.

Just before 2 30 this morning, a night that had been simmering exploded Donald Trump entering the East Room of the White House to make this statement.

This is a fraud on the American public.

This is an embarrassment to our country.

We were getting ready to win this election.

Frankly, we did win this election.

There's no evidence of fraud.

It all on the votes that remain to be counted, were cast on or before polling day on.

The president ratcheted up the tension, still further, saying he wanted the Supreme Court, which now has a decisive conservative majority toe order.

Ah, Halt!

Accounting for the good of this nation.

This is a very big moment.

This is a major fraud in our nation.

We want the law to be used in a proper manner.

So we'll be going to the U.

S.

Supreme Court.

We want all voting to stop.

We don't want them to find any ballots at four oclock in the morning and add them to the list.

Okay, for the moment, counting continues of postal votes in these key swing states, which were always expected to give Joe Biden an advantage after he encouraged his supporters to vote by mail on, the president railed against it.

Tension is still great on that was palpable on the streets around the White House last night.

As black lives matter, protesters gathered in the dawn light.

Things are becoming clearer.

Yes, there are still millions of ballots to be processed, but Joe Biden has picked up Wisconsin and is projected to win Michigan.

No declaration of victory yet, but it wasn't far short.

After a long night of counting, it's clear that we're winning enough states to reach 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.

I'm not here.

Declare that we've won.

But I am here to report Well, the countess finished.

We believe we will be the winners.

There is those still a fragile unease, with shops and offices boarded up.

This could still get bumpy, and Americans will need to show patients trust on fortitude, all commodities in desperate short supply.

It's been a day of really sharp fluctuations.

Ondas with the evening comes So Joe Biden is looking good with that declarations, declarations of Wisconsin and Michigan.

He has been within touching distance of those 270 Electoral College votes.

He is ahead in Nevada.

He is ahead in Arizona.

They should declare tomorrow.

If that doesn't change, then Joe Biden will cross the threshold of 270 votes and will claim the presidency.

Hugh John.

Many thanks for now.

We'll talk again later about some other aspect of the off the night.

But thanks very much for now, John Super there for us in Washington.

On as we saw in John's report within the past hour, Joe Biden has emerged to deliver his message to the American people, saying he's confident of victory but not yet formally declaring that he's one, he said people should be patient until every vote has been counted.

Ondas we said several battleground states have yet to declare.

So let's join our North America correspondent Nick Bryant at the Biden campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, on Nick.

What did you make of the tone on the content off Mr Biden's address a short while ago, It was a conventionally presidential style speech from a man who now believes he is gonna be the next president.

The tone so starkly different from Donald Trump's comments at the White House last night, and that was precisely the point.

It's being the point of Joe candidates.

Joe Biden's candidacy throughout this to present himself a Z, the anti trump.

Now he set out his case.

He's won more votes nationally than Donald Trump.

That's true, but it's irrelevant in the U.

S electoral system.

He's won more votes than any presidential candidate in U.

S.

History.

That is true as well, but again irrelevant.

But crucially, he believes now that he has the votes where it matters.

Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada.

The four states that would get into that magic number of 2 70.

Now Joe Biden is surrounded by veterans of the Florida Re camp on.

One of the reasons they believe that George W.

Bush ended up is the president in 2000 was because he created the narrative early on that he was the true winner, that he was the true president elect on that Al Gore did not come up with a counter narrative that was persuasive enough.

They're determined not to let that happen now.

This speech was part of that part of their post election campaign.

Many thanks again Nick Bryant there at the Biden headquarters in Wilmington.