Welcome back in for Al’s Afternoon Tea. Yet another chance to stop and absorb the events of this week.

First, a quick update. Our spies at LAX and La Guardia report they’ve spotted no celebrities leaving the country who had promised they would if Trump was elected.

A Gracious Biden Addresses the Nation

Joe Biden addressed the nation this morning after the election of the rival he has spent years ranting is a threat to democracy. And you’ve got to give the Big Guy props. He was gracious and eloquent … and the most eloquent he’s been in years.

He promised “On January 20th, we will have a peaceful transfer of power.” But more than that, he turned a phrase he has often used against Trump into a directive to those upset at his victory: “I’ve said it many times, ‘You can’t love your country only if you win.'”

BIDEN: You can't love your country only when you win. Something I hope we can do is see each other as fellow Americans. Bring down the temperature. pic.twitter.com/cPwBtXNI6N

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 7, 2024

Biden took on the tone of a grandfather as he tried to comfort his staffers and others on the losing side: “Setbacks are unavoidable, but giving up is unforgivable.”

All told, well done. Whether his actions the next 74 days follow his words, we’ll see.

Still, as nice a tone as Biden set, and as good as that is for the healing of the country, I would have paid to see him walk out in that MAGA hat he put on in Pennsylvania. “We’re all Americans. We must all get behind our president-elect. I’m going to the beach.” Even a snide “How’d that switcheroo work out for you, Nancy?” would have been nice.

But let us be grateful that worries of a bitter and violent transition is looking, at least for now, unfounded.

Call Donald Trump “Mr. 312”

We knew it early Wednesday, but now it’s official. With the call on Arizona, Donald Trump has swept the swing states and landed a whopping 312 Electoral College votes to Harris’s 226.

Trump has also won the popular vote by, at current count, 4.6 million. He was backed by 1/3^rd of people of color and won Latino men by 10% just four years after Biden won them by 23. The entire map moved his direction.

Even the liberal Axios is figuring out what a beast Trump is: “Donald J. Trump has vanquished the Bushes, the Clintons, the Bidens, the Obamas – and the establishment of both parties.”

Trump’s comeback puts him in the political hall of fame. If he rights the American ship again, they’ll put him on Mount Rushmore.

What Happened to the Votes?’

The President-Elect is approaching his 2020 vote total, while Kamala Harris is – at this point – some 15 million votes behind Joe Biden’s total. However, she is ahead of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 total and approaching Barack Obama’s numbers.

Where did those 15 million Biden voters go? We said it yesterday. They never existed. Well … some existed at some point, but they spent the 2024 election back in their graves.

Boy, would it be icing on the cake if Democratic voters actually thought a second and went, “You mean he was also right about the 2020 election?”

Dear Democrats,

You must not rest until you find these missing 2020 votes.

Please don't stop until you find their source.

Leave no stone unturned. Do not quit. pic.twitter.com/ShQOxhAxqy

— Marcus Pittman (@ImKingGinger) November 7, 2024

GOP on Path to Keep the House … Giving Trump the Trifecta

The Republicans are moving closer to keeping control of the House of Representatives. As of 11 a.m., the Decision Desk HQ count is 213, with the magic number being 218. If the GOP keeps the House — and it’s not certain at this point, especially as the days drag out and more shenanigans can slip in — that means Republicans will have control of the White House, Senate and House. Meaning, things can get done. It also means, there goes Rep. Jamie Raskin’s dream of the House voting to reject certification of Trump’s victory.

Meanwhile, keep an eye on Kari Lake’s race in Arizona. The conservative firebrand was supposed to be toast in her race against Democrat Ruben Gallego, but keeps chipping away at his lead as the votes are slowly tallied. The Stream’s John Zmirak is interviewing intrepid journalist Rachel Alexander about the skullduggery behind the scenes in her home state, and we’ll post that video when it’s ready. If you aren’t following Rachel (a Stream alum) you should be.

The MSM has mostly ignored Kari’s election lawsuits. Unfortunately there are only a handful of us MAGA reporters in Arizona and I’m almost the only one covering all of her litigation (@ConradsonJordan is about the only other one). Google News stopped carrying my articles several… https://t.co/wxgVjeA8d5

— Rachel Alexander (@Rach_IC) November 7, 2024

Election Data guru Eric Daugherty’s sources are saying there’s a “very good” good chance Lake can pull it out. As of 11 a.m., she is within 52,000 votes with a quarter of the vote remaining to be counted in areas mostly leaning red. Will it be enough?

Kari Lake is calling for volunteers to help fight the voter fraud which she strongly suspects is taking place … again.

The most important thing you can be doing for the next few days is helping ⁦@TPAction_⁩ cure these ballots and make sure every vote counts in Arizona.

You can even do it over the phone if you don’t live in our state.

Please help if you can! https://t.co/dLTh9ksn4G

— Kari Lake (@KariLake) November 7, 2024

DOJ Moving to Drop Cases Against Trump

The two federal criminal cases against Donald Trump from Special Prosecutor Jack Smith look to be going bye-bye, according to NBC News. Sources tell the network the DOJ believes that since DOJ rules prohibit the trial of a sitting president and the two cases will easily drag past January 20, there is little point continuing them.

Is that why Smith may be packing it up? Or is it simply because the whole point was to stop Trump from being re-elected and Biden’s lawfare strategy failed miserably?

Meanwhile, in the so-called Stormy Daniels case in New York, where Donald Trump was convicted of a crime that had to be created out of thin air, CNN reported the Trump-hating Judge Juan Merchan is giving himself until November 12 to rule on whether to throw out the case based on the Supreme Court’s ruling on immunity.

He might as well. Since it was concocted as well by DOJ and Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg to stop Trump from getting elected and failed. Plus it’s going to be tossed out by an appeals court on the merits anyway.

Harris Aide: “Joe Biden is the Singular Reason Kamala Harris and Democrats Lost.”

Blaming it on The Big Guy. An aide to Kamala Harris is pinning her election loss entirely on Joe Biden, telling Politico. “We ran the best campaign we could, considering Joe Biden was president,” the anonymous aide said. “Joe Biden is the singular reason Kamala Harris and the Democrats lost.”

Now you know why Jill Biden wore MAGA red on Election Day.

Shall we point out the obvious? Harris is Biden’s VP. His policies were her policies. It was the Biden-Harris administration and half the time he called her the “president.”

But here’s the other thing. Perhaps it’s easy to forget already, but when the switch was made, the Democrats got a huge boost. Kamala was riding high. She was handed a lead. If she had any game at all she could have maintained it. Instead, she started throwing balls right into the other teams’ hands and fumbling at every crucial moment. She’s the political equivalent of NY Giants quarterback Daniel Jones.

Harris herself in her “I concede the election, but I’m going to fight against Trump” speech took no responsibility for the loss. Further proving why she’s no leader. The nation would have respected her had she come out and told her campaign workers and supporters. “You gave all. The loss is totally on me.”

Harris Blew a Billion Bucks, Her Campaign Ended Up in Debt?

Kamala Harris’s campaign raised over a billion dollars. Yet, according to Politico’s Christoher Cadelago, her campaign ended this week at least $20 million in debt. Breitbart News confirmed the numbers with a campaign staffer. The staffer griped how campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon “blew through a billion dollars in a few months, and it was her idea to do the concerts.” That would be the costly star-studded concerts with Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen, Katy Perry and all the rest that did nothing to help Kamala’s chances.

The Meltdown of Late Night Comics

Oh, weren’t network late night hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon sad fellows Wednesday night, mourning Kamala Harris’s defeat.

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel was near tears.

Loser Jimmy Kimmel is crying about Trump winning! 😂😂😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/HAgXFFDKyE

— 🇺🇸ProudArmyBrat (@leslibless) November 7, 2024

They may be crying, but I tell you again as one who was in the topical humor business in L.A. for years, their writers are secretly ecstatic. I voted for Al Gore in 2000. Did I despair after he lost? Not as a comedy writer. After eight years of Bill & Hillary Clinton, a Gore victory … or for that matter George W. Bush’s victory … meant I would actually have to work. Trump … like Clinton … does the job for you.

Besides, as far as the host goes, it’s much more fun to be the jester jabbing at power than a lapdog doing tricks for their master as those guys have been doing the past four years.

As for Stephen Colbert, he had this line: “The majority has spoken and they said they don’t care that much for democracy.” I am hoping that is supposed to be a joke. But with Colbert, he may really be that far gone.

Colbert, also despondent:

"The majority has spoken and they said they don’t care that much about democracy. And I want to take a moment to congratulate Kamala Harris & Tim Walz on running an amazing 107-day campaign." pic.twitter.com/cIksZv1jUm

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) November 7, 2024

Putting the Angst to Music

Speaking of humor, you’ve seen by now plenty of videos of liberals getting completely, psychotically unhinged over Trump winning. Personally, I don’t find it amusing. I find it frightening. Not just that these people seem like they can easily harm themselves or others, but also because they decided to actually post the videos of themselves. Deliberately putting your meltdowns on camera? Really?! That poor, now infamous, Hillary Clinton supporter in the lime green who let out the scream that built a million memes? That wasn’t a selfie.

Still, when it comes to these new rants, you can’t help but chuckle when creative types put the meltdowns to music.

The musically-inclined out there need to start setting their whining to music like this guy did. pic.twitter.com/t280DlZm7A

— Nonya Damnbusiness🐻 (@iball) November 7, 2024

On the Stream Menu

Joseph Mattera on “12 Things the National Election Indicates.”

Stream contributor Wanda Adler offers “Prophetic Dream: We are About to Be Grounded.”

Al Perrotta is The Stream’s Washington bureau chief, coauthor with John Zmirak of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration, and coauthor of the counterterrorism memoir Hostile Intent: Protecting Yourself Against Terrorism.