Donald Trump and Joe Biden | Photo credit: AP
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he would leave the White House if Joe Biden is officially confirmed as the winner of the US election, making a further concession of defeat even as he criticized the “rigged” vote.
Trump has made an unprecedented attempt to challenge the election results by refusing to budge, spreading wild theories about stolen ballots, and launching unfounded legal challenges that have been dismissed by courts across the country.
Responding to his first questions from journalists since the Nov.3 vote, the president came close to agreeing that he would only serve one term before Biden takes office on Jan.20.
When asked if he would leave the White House if the Electoral College confirmed Biden’s victory, Trump said: “I certainly will. And you know it.”
But “if they do, they made a mistake,” he said, adding, “It’s going to be a very difficult thing to admit.
The Electoral College, which determines the winner of the White House, will meet on December 14 to certify Biden’s victory, and Biden will receive 306 votes to Trump’s 232.
“This was a massive fraud,” Trump said of the result, again without providing any evidence during his comments to reporters on Thursday, the Thanksgiving holiday.
He described the voting infrastructure of the United States as “like a third world country.”
Earlier in the day, he tweeted that “this was a 100% EQUIPPED ELECTION,” while on Wednesday he asked his Republican supporters “to turn the election around.”
No proof of fraud
President-elect Biden has said that the Americans will “not tolerate” attempts to derail the outcome and called on Americans to unite to fight the worsening Covid-19 pandemic.
Trump, who broke countless rules during his four years in power, has carved out new territory for himself with his refusal to give in to Biden.
Supporters suggest that he is already considering an announcement to run for president again in 2024.
Trump, 74, alleges, among other conspiracy theories, that the voting machines deliberately erased millions of his votes, even though the government’s election security agency declared it “the safest election” in US history.
After coming under pressure from a slowly forming trickle from senior Republicans, Trump this week ended his blockade of government assistance to facilitate Biden’s readiness to assume the presidency.
Biden also released a list this week of veteran diplomats and lawmakers who will make up his national security and foreign policy team, saying, “America is back, ready to lead the world.”
“These public servants will restore America’s global leadership and moral leadership,” said Biden, 78, as the six men and women stood behind him wearing face masks.
Biden said that in his first 100 days in office he will address the Covid crisis, eliminate Trump’s policies that “harm” the environment, and push through legislation that offers millions of undocumented residents a path to citizenship.
