It was well after 2 AM ET when POTUS spoke at the White House ... rattling off all the states where he'd won, and said he was getting ready for a big victory celebration when it was suddenly called off.

Trump was incensed, feeling he was well on his way to being declared the winner based on victories in Florida, Texas and Ohio. He also feels he has a big enough lead in North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Michigan to be declared the winner in those states ... which no media outlet is doing yet.

The incumbent is especially pissed about PA, where at the time of his speech he was beating Biden by more than 600,000 votes -- a lead he believes is unsurmountable. That's not how experts see it, with much of Philadelphia's ballots still not counted. Trump said he's going to SCOTUS anyway, because he suspects "surprise ballots," presumably cast for Biden, might be found at 4 AM.

The President also accused the Biden campaign of running to court, which, as far as the public knows, hasn't happened. Biden spoke about 90 minutes earlier, and was confident he was "on track" to win ... but made no mention of alleged cheating or the need for lawyers.

What's odd is Trump said he wants "all voting to stop." Voting has stopped, but what's happening now -- and clearly not in a manner to his liking -- is the counting of ballots. BTW, that counting might give Trump a victory in Arizona, where Fox News has projected Biden to win.

This is really the worst-case scenario for America. Neither candidate has the necessary 270 electoral college votes yet, but Trump is declaring victory and already accusing the Dems of cheating -- and now the Supreme Court, with his newly confirmed Justice Amy Coney Barrett, could be in play.

It all adds up to days, if not weeks and months of political strife, and possible civil unrest, ahead for the nation.