  US election 2020

The hearings of the investigative committee on the storming of the Capitol on 6 January have been underway in the US since Tuesday. Security personnel on duty at the time were the first to testify, some of them in tears. The hearing aims to clarify to what extent ex-president Donald Trump bears responsibility for the attack by his supporters.

The US Senate has acquitted ex-President Trump after only five days of impeachment proceedings. Although 57 out of 100 senators, including seven Republicans, voted for retroactive impeachment, this fell short of the requisite two-thirds majority for a conviction. Trump immediately announced his intention of making a comeback. Sharp criticism of the Republican Party can be heard from the press.

The Democrat-dominated US House of Representatives has initiated impeachment proceedings against Trump for "incitement of insurrection." Ten out of 207 Republicans also voted for the move. The proceedings will now be handed over to the Senate, where Democrats need several Republican votes to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority.

Just a few days before Joe Biden's inauguration, the Democrats are set to launch impeachment proceedings against outgoing US President Donald Trump. The party introduced a resolution to this effect in the House of Representatives on Monday, charging Trump with "incitement of insurrection" before the assault on the Capitol. Europe's press is divided over the timing of the move and whether it is wise to impeach a president who has already been voted out of office.

Observers across the globe are still preoccupied with the events of last week in Washington. After four years of Donald Trump repeatedly questioning and undermining US democratic institutions supporters of his invaded the Capitol two weeks before the end of his mandate. Some commentators see democracy in grave danger. Others see a new political bearer of hope emerging amid the chaos.

After fierce criticism of Wednesday's storming of the Capitol including from members of the Republican Party, outgoing US President Donald Trump has now announced that he will allow a peaceful transfer of power and condemned the violent acts of his supporters in Congress. European media discuss whether this really means his imminent departure from the world stage.

US President Donald Trump is causing a new furor in his last days in office. According to media reports he pressured the secretary of state of Georgia to change the results of the presidential election in his state retroactively in a phone call. Trump has also talked of election fraud in the Georgia runoff elections for two Senate seats. Commentators analyse his behavior.

Joe Biden was formally elected as the next president of the United States by members of the electoral college on Monday. The following day, the Republican senate majority leader Mitch McConnell also congratulated Biden on his victory. Donald Trump, however, still refuses to recognise the election results. Commentators fear that the election battle is not yet over.

The US president-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday announced the first ten members of his cabinet. Six of them are former colleagues from the Obama era, including Tony Blinken, who will be Secretary of State, and Avril Haines, appointed as Director of National Intelligence. Commentators are full of praise for the team's competence and diversity, but also question whether it will be able to make good on Biden's campaign promises.

Joe Biden plans to reverse some of Trump's decisions by decree on his first day as US president. According to his chief of staff, Biden wants to return to the Paris Climate Agreement, introduce protection for underage migrants and adopt new measures in healthcare. For Europe's media the key question is what direction US foreign policy will move in.

Kamala Harris gave her victory speech on Saturday evening dressed all in white, the colour of the suffragettes. She commemorated the women of all skin colours who fought for freedom and equality. Not all commentators are convinced that Harris can meet the high expectations that being the first woman and black woman in the vice presidency entails.

On Saturday, the election results were finally clear enough for Joe Biden to celebrate victory in his hometown of Wilmington (Delaware). In his victory speech, Biden stressed his intention to be president for all US citizens - including those who did not vote for him. Most of Europe's press voices believe the Democrat has the potential to unite the divided country.

Joe Biden is the favourite in the final phase of the vote counting in the US. So far he has received almost three million more votes than Trump - but he still doesn't have enough electoral votes to declare victory. Donald Trump, who prematurely declared himself the winner on election night, has now filed lawsuits in several states claiming fraud in the vote-counting process. For observers, this a blow to the very foundations of US democracy.

Although the pendulum is swinging ever more clearly in Biden's direction, Donald Trump has performed far better than predicted in the US election, as indeed he did in 2016. Furthermore, as the incumbent president he can spread falsehoods and deliberately misleading statements that go largely unhindered in the media. Why can't journalists and pollsters get the Trump phenomenon under control?

The US is nervously anticipating the outcome of the presidential election. It is already clear that turnout will be high. A close result, a challenge by Trump, outbreaks of violence: observers believe a period of uncertainty and chaos could be looming, and voice doubts about the effectiveness of the US electoral system.

Trump and Biden wooed the last undecided voters this weekend. Biden is still leading in the polls, but his margin has now shrunk in some states. Trump has even overtaken him in Iowa, where he was ahead for a long time. Commentators outline the ramifications of the election for Europe - and warn that things won't automatically be all right again if Biden wins.

Donald Trump and Joe Biden have squared off in their second and final TV debate. This time the discussion was more tempered than in the first debate, in which Trump barely let Biden get a word in and both candidates insulted each other. Almost 50 million Americans have already voted by mail. Were the candidates able to win over undecided voters last night?

In the run-up to the US presidential elections on November 3, the polls show the presidential challenger Joe Biden with a substantial lead against Donald Trump in some states. While some observers are already looking at how Trump would react to defeat, others voice doubts about the reliability of the polls.

After the high-profile TV debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden on September 29, the vice-presidential hopefuls Mike Pence and Kamala Harris took their turn to present themselves to US voters on television on Wednesday. Commentators appreciate the civilized tone of the debate but are divided over its impact.

Republican US President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden engaged in their first TV debate Tuesday night on Fox News. Commentators describe their impressions of the two candidates.