US President Donald Trump on Saturday refused to accept defeat in the 2020 presidential election, reiterating that it was “far from over.” Several major media outlets projected that Democratic leader Joe Biden will be the 46th US president with more than 270 electoral votes. The vote count is still in progress.
Kamala Harris will serve as Biden’s vice president. She is the first woman and the first person of color in the post.
However, as expected, Trump did not back down, claiming that Biden was quick to “falsely pose as the winner” and that his media allies were trying to help him because “they don’t want the truth exposed.”
“The simple fact is that this election is far from over,” the Trump campaign said in a statement. “Joe Biden has not been certified as the winner of any state, let alone highly controversial states that are heading for mandatory recounts, or states where our campaign has valid and legitimate legal challenges that could determine the ultimate victor.”
He added: “In Pennsylvania, for example, our legal observers were not allowed significant access to observe the counting process. Legal votes decide who is the president, not the media. “
On Saturday, the AP called the crucial state of Pennsylvania, as well as Nevada, which brought Biden’s electoral votes to a total of 290 votes. Biden leads in Arizona and also has a minimal advantage over Trump in Georgia, where a recount will take place as the margin between Trump and Biden was less than 0.5% of the vote.
President’s statement @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/vAXtVk4Ifn
– Team Trump (Text VOTE to 88022) (@TeamTrump) November 7, 2020
“Beginning Monday, our campaign will begin to process our case in court to ensure that electoral laws are fully enforced and that the rightful winner is seated,” said Trump’s statement. “The American people have the right to an honest election – that means counting all legal votes and not counting illegal votes. This is the only way to ensure that the public has full confidence in our choice. “
Added:
“It remains shocking that the Biden campaign refuses to agree to this basic principle and wants ballots to be counted even if they are fraudulent, manufactured or cast by ineligible or deceased voters. Only one party involved in a violation would illegally keep observers out of the counting room and then fight in court to block their access. So what is Biden hiding? I will not rest until the American people have the honest vote count that they deserve and that democracy demands. “
– Donald Trump
Earlier on Saturday, Trump falsely tweeted that he had won the election. Twitter had immediately flagged it.
I WON THIS ELECTION, BY FAR!
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2020
The Trump campaign has always denounced election fraud, and Trump even appears to announce victory early Wednesday. This was before millions of votes sent by mail were counted. Trump also filed lawsuits in some states to stop mail ballot counting, but the cases were dropped.
A record number of Americans sent their votes by mail this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit the US more than any other country in the world. Mail ballots are counted last in many states, including Georgia and Pennsylvania. Analysts had predicted that Trump could appear to be ahead in the election before mail-in ballots were counted, as generally most postal ballots are for Democrats. Here’s what happened, and once Trump’s lead began to dwindle as mail ballots were counted, he and his campaign screamed foul.
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