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The president of the United States, Donald Trump, came close to admitting on Friday that he lost the elections of November 3 to Joe Biden, but finally he limited himself to saying: “Time will tell.”
The Republican president, who has not yet congratulated his Democratic rival, declared the winner on Saturday according to media projections based on official results, spoke from the White House to announce the imminent authorization of a vaccine against covid-19.
“We are not going to confinement,” he promised, when the United States, which mourns more than 243,000 deaths from the coronavirus, experiences a record rebound in infections.
“Hopefully, what happens in the future, who knows what government it will be, I guess time will tell,” he added.
Trump spoke shortly before Biden consolidated his triumph on Friday, accumulating 306 votes in the 538-member Electoral College that selects the president of the United States. Ironically, it’s the same number that gave Trump his surprising victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016.
The TV networks declared Biden the winner in Georgia, where the Democrats last won in 1992 with Bill Clinton, after doing so on Thursday in Arizona, in Republican hands since 1996. Trump finished with 232 electoral votes after adding North Carolina.
“When will you admit you lost the election, sir?” Journalists yelled as Trump left the Rose Garden without comment.
Trump had not spoken publicly since Nov. 5, when he falsely claimed to have won and said the election had been “stolen” from him, as he did on election night itself. Since then, he has reiterated on Twitter his unfounded accusations of fraud and pushed for lawsuits to challenge the results.
Marches in the capital
“This election was rigged!” He tweeted on Friday, after announcing that he could “try to come and say hello” to his supporters at the rally scheduled for this Saturday in Washington to support their claims.
That day, several groups under the slogans “Stop the robbery”, “March of the million MAGA” (in reference to Trump’s slogan, Make America Great Again) and “Women for America First” are scheduled to demonstrate in the capital.
But electoral authorities across the country affirmed that the elections were “the safest in history”, stressing that “there is no evidence” of lost or changed votes, or altered voting systems.
And on Friday, a Michigan judge issued another dismissal of the Republican fraud allegations.
The horizon continued to darken for the president when Biden added congratulations from China.
But Trump and his surroundings seem to live in a parallel reality.
“The president will attend his own inauguration,” Trump’s press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Fox News. “When every legal vote is counted, President Trump will win,” he said.
“We are moving forward here in the White House under the assumption that there will be a second term for Trump,” Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro said on Fox Business.
Transition locked
Despite Trump’s blockade to start the process of transfer of power that the law provides, Biden continues with his preparations to take office on January 20: on Saturday he will meet with his advisers for the transition, after analyzing the progress on Friday of the covid-19 with the experts of its crisis cell.
“I renew my call to all Americans, regardless of where they live or who they voted for, to (…) do their part in social distancing, hand washing, and wearing masks to protect themselves and others,” urged in a statement.
His new chief of staff, Ron Klain, said Thursday that preventing the incoming administration from accessing the current government’s confidential briefings puts the fluidity of the process at risk.
Former Trump chief of staff John Kelly said the delay in allowing the transition to officially begin is detrimental to the national security of the United States, as more than 150 former officials have already warned in writing on the matter, including some who worked with Trump. .
“Trump doesn’t have to concede if he doesn’t want to until the electoral process is complete. But there is nothing wrong with starting the transition, “he told the Politico newspaper.
Although many in the Republican party have been loyal to Trump, prominent senators such as Marco Rubio, James Lankford and Roy Blunt spoke in the same vein.
The new head of the Pentagon, Christopher Miller, appointed by Trump after firing Mark Esper on Twitter on Monday, said on Friday that the US armed forces have not weakened in this electoral context.
“The Department of Defense remains strong and continues its vital work to protect our homeland, our people and our interests around the world,” he said.
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