Despite what viewers might believe, television networks don’t actually officially decide who wins presidential elections. Even with millions of Americans celebrating Joe Biden being declared the 46th President of the United States, President Donald Trump’s vow to challenge results in certain states with lawsuits and legal action does create a scenario that could keep him in office for another term.

Dick Morris was an advisor to Bill Clinton in the late 1970s, then a political advisor for Democrats and Republicans, and currently he is a columnist for the New York Post and The Hill. He’s worked in politics his entire adult life, representing the best interests for both parties. He laid out an interesting scenario to Newsmax.com that shows the path needed for Trump to retain office. It starts with the fact that, according to tracking data, recounts in Arizona, Georgia and other states that may have them are likely to go heavily to Trump, and errors and potentially invalid votes that will be challenged come primarily from mail-in ballots, which Biden won almost two-thirds of.

The TV networks that declared Biden the next president on Saturday put Trump’s Electoral College vote total at 214. This did not include Alaska, where he will almost certainly gain 3 to put him at 217.

North Carolina appears to be a state Trump will win, taking those 15 votes, which would increase his total to 232. If he were to win a recount in Arizona and take those 11 electoral college votes, he would have 243 of the 270 needed. The same scenario in Georgia would put Trump at 259 if he were to win a recount or overtake Biden’s current lead of 8,400 votes. If a recount were to happen in Wisconsin and Trump won the 10 votes there, it would put him at 269, with Pennsylvania and its 20 votes deciding who wins.

Biden currently has a 37,000-vote lead, but if late ballots are thrown out by the Supreme Court, it tilts in favor of Trump. In order to institute a recount in Pennsylvania, there needs to be a margin under 0.5%, and there are no guarantees it will get to that level.

With protests already starting in Washington to try to keep the election results out of the Supreme Court, the next few weeks are going to be intense. But the bottom line is that the race is far from officially over.

President Donald Trump gives two thumbs up to supporters as he departs after playing golf at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling Va., Sunday Nov. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

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