President Donald Trump appeared to have held off predictions of a sweeping Democratic wave as he fast caught up and enjoyed a slim but vital lead in several key states. "He (Trump) is doing better than expected... What changed was the frantic campaigning that he undertook where thousands of people showed up with no care about the pandemic. There was a lot of enthusiasm, on the ground. It was really palpable," said Seema Sirohi, columnist for The Economic Times. Most opinion polls had showed Democrat Joe Biden, 77, leading. "Unfortunately, while I think many us had hoped that there would be a Biden landslide or at least a decisive lead early in the night, it looks like we may end up waiting through the night and to the next day and even longer as the results are tabulated from all quarters," said Christine Emba, opinion columnist at The Washington Post.