Gore: This election is ‘completely different’ than 2000

Former Vice President Al Gore said the state of the 2020 presidential election between Democratic nominee Joe Biden and President Trump is “completely different” than the 2000 election between himself and former President George W. Bush.  

“This is a completely different election from the one 20 years ago. Joe Biden has multiple pathways to secure his victory. And of course, I’m for him and I’m hoping that will be the case very soon,” Gore told NBC News on Thursday. “But the most important principle that I defended 20 years ago, that Joe Biden and many others are defending tonight is, let’s count every legally cast vote and obey the will of the American people.

“You know, I looked at the people standing in line to vote in the middle of a pandemic. Some of them waiting in line 10, 11 hours in some cases. And the determination of the American people in spite of the, what they were facing, to have the largest turnout in the entire history of our country, they’re heroes and they’re redeeming the promise of America,” he continued. 

Fmr. VP Al Gore: “The most important principle that I defended twenty years ago, that Joe Biden and many others are defending tonight, is, ‘let’s count every legally cast vote and obey the will of the American people.'” #Election2020 pic.twitter.com/s5Wd1yKbZI

— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 6, 2020

The 2000 presidential election between Gore and Bush came down to a recount of votes in Florida, which lasted for weeks. The election was not decided until Dec. 12, following a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling in Bush’s favor. 

Biden is currently leading Trump with 264 electoral votes to Trump’s 214 electoral votes, according to the races called by the Associated Press. The outlet has not called races in Nevada, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia and Alaska. 

Biden has won the most votes out of any candidate in history, receiving over 73 million votes across the country.

Gore on Thursday also criticized the president for repeatedly claiming without evidence that the election is being stolen. Trump claimed in remarks at the White House on Thursday that “If you count the legal votes, I easily win. If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us. If you count the votes that came in late, we’re looking at them very strongly.”

The former vice president told NBC News that “I was thinking as the president was speaking in the White House of the advice Mark Twain once gave to a group of young voters. He said, ‘Do right. You’ll gratify some and astonish the rest.’”

“If Donald Trump does face the situation where the votes are all counted and he turns out to not to be successful, I would urge him to do the right thing. And yes, it would astonish a lot of people, but it would be good for our country,” he added.