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Al Drago Getty Images via AFP
- US President-elect Joe Biden will lay the groundwork for his new administration to prepare for office on Wednesday.
- Trump refused to budge and his campaign has dismissed two lawsuits.
- Biden leads Trump by 5 million votes as final tabulations are coentering.
US President-elect Joe Biden will lay the groundwork for his new administration on Wednesday, as President Donald Trump pursues a series of impromptu lawsuits that challenge the election results in an effort to hold on to power.
Trump has refused to budge, instead pressing unsubstantiated charges of election fraud that have gained little traction.
So far, justices have thrown out lawsuits in Michigan and Georgia brought by the Trump campaign, and legal experts say the litigation has little chance of changing the outcome of the Nov.3 election.
Nearly 80% of Americans, including half of Republicans, say Biden is the rightful winner, according to a Reuters / Ipsos poll released Tuesday.
Trump’s refusal to accept defeat, even as world leaders congratulate Biden and look toward his future relationships, culminates a tumultuous four years in office with the deeply polarized United States, ravaged by the coronavirus and torn by racial divide.
But Trump supporters, who gave him more than 72 million votes up to the last count compared to Biden’s 77 million, have reveled in his combative style and rule-breaking. Trump has avoided a public concession or pledge to cooperate often offered by outgoing presidents.
Biden told reporters Tuesday:
It’s a shame, frankly. How can I say this tactfully? I don’t think it will help the president’s legacy.
Trump’s fellow Republicans have largely stuck with him, saying he has the right to challenge the result.
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said Tuesday that he would pay up to $ 1 million from his campaign account to people who present evidence of voter fraud.
But privately, some say Trump must soon present significant evidence or walk off stage.
Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, a state Trump easily won last week, said in a statement Tuesday that Biden is leading in enough states to win the election “and President Donald Trump’s campaign must produce evidence to support the allegations of electoral fraud”. Portman added that he hoped states and courts would act “quickly” to resolve the matter.
Trump suffered another possible setback Tuesday when Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said a postal worker who claimed to have witnessed ballot tampering in Pennsylvania had retracted his allegations, according to the Service’s internal watchdog. Postcard.
Preparing to rule
Biden plans to meet with advisers on Wednesday to help him prepare to take office on January 20, 2021.
He has drawn on experts in finance, trade and banking regulation for his transition team ranging from Central Democrats to progressive activists, reflecting the ongoing debate within the party on how to tackle climate change, wealth inequality and other issues.
Biden is also turning to people who crafted stricter environmental rules while serving under President Barack Obama.
Biden secured the presidency on Saturday after television networks concluded that he had won Pennsylvania and Nevada, giving him 279 votes in the Electoral College, more than the 270 needed to take the White House.
The outcome is still undecided in several states, with Trump leading the way in North Carolina and Biden ahead in Georgia and Arizona. Counts are expected in various states, although they are unlikely to change the result.
Nationally, Biden leads Trump by 3.2 percentage points or nearly 5 million votes as the final tabulations proceed.
To stay in office, Trump would have to win all three swing states and nullify the results in one or more states already in Biden’s column.
On Wednesday, Trump will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery to mark Veterans Day. It will be his first public appearance, aside from two golf outings, since an angry press conference at the White House last Thursday.
The Trump administration is not cooperating with Biden’s team, which has been unable to move into federal government office space or tap into funds to hire staff.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo predicted a “second Trump administration” on Tuesday, in remarks contrary to congratulatory phone calls from the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Ireland to Biden.
Trump installed loyalists to the highest positions in the Pentagon, a day after firing Defense Secretary Mark Esper, which could make it easier for US troops to use to respond to internal protests.
