Ben Lowry: The Republican Party now needs to be a check on the radicals in President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party

Mr Trump is still insisting that he won the contest.

In fact Mr Biden clearly won the election.

His victory in the overall popular vote across the United States was so vast (it is still being counted but this morning stood at 78.1 million to 72.7 million for Mr Trump) that he also able to win narrowly (but decisively) in the ‘electoral college’.

Last week I expressed my contempt for Mr Trump’s presidency, and knew that it would go down badly with many readers. Sure enough we had letters all week supporting Mr Trump (see links below).

I fully understand why unionists in particular dislike an avowed Irish nationalist such as Mr Biden.

This is why I think that it is essential that Mr Trump’s Republican Party retains control of the US senate (which will be decided by run-off elections for the Georgia senators in January).

But many senators do not deserve such a victory, given the way that they have stood by Mr Trump even when he has been whipping up tens of millions of Americans into a frenzy with his outrageous lie that the election was stolen.

Even so, it is important that the Republican Party is a check on Mr Biden, some of whose followers support Black Lives Matter and believe in lunacy such as defunding the police.

• Ben Lowry (@BenLowry2) is News Letter deputy editor

• Ben Lowry: DUP got no credit for trying to get business back

• Ben Lowry last week: If this is the end of Trump as president then good riddance November 7

• Many writers and letters have supported President Trump, as below:

• Ruth Dudley Edwards: Donald Trump understood the plight of poor white Americans

• Letter: Ben Lowry should apologise to Donald Trump for using such abusive language

• Letter: Best wishes to President Donald Trump, who made America great again

• Letter: Joe Biden is not yet the president of the United States

• Letter: Beware of dancing too soon over Donald Trump

• Letter: Joe Biden as US president would be a disaster for the UK

• David McNarry: Joe Biden is no friend of unionism

• Editorial: Congratulations to Joe Biden on becoming president, and thanks to Donald Trump for his legacy

Among other columns,Alex Kane is not concerned that Biden’s Irish nationalism will be a problem

• Alex Kane: Donald Trump may have lost, but his influence will remain

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