President Donald Trump appeared to publicly acknowledge for the first time on Sunday that Democrat Joe Biden won the November 3 US presidential election, but claimed they were “rigged,” reiterating his false claims of widespread voter fraud.
Biden defeated Trump by winning a series of states on the battlefield that the Republican president had won in 2016. The former Democratic vice president also won the national popular vote by more than 5.5 million votes, or 3.6 percentage points.
Trump appeared to acknowledge Biden’s victory in a Twitter post in which he listed unsubstantiated allegations of fraud.
He only won in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA. I grant NOTHING! We have a long way to go. This was an EQUIPPED CHOICE! “Trump tweeted.
The Trump campaign has filed lawsuits seeking to overturn the results in several states, albeit without success, and legal experts say the litigation has little chance of altering the election outcome.
Election officials from both parties have said there is no evidence of major wrongdoing. Democrats and other critics have accused Trump of trying to delegitimize Biden’s victory and undermine public confidence in the American electoral process. Before the election, Trump had refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power.
Trump’s refusal to budge did not change the fact that Biden was president-elect, but it has stalled the administration’s normal process of preparing for a new presidential administration.
The Trump administration’s decision not to recognize Biden as the winner has prevented Biden and his team from gaining access to government office space and funds normally awarded to an incoming administration to ensure a smooth transition.
The federal agency in charge of providing those resources, the General Services Administration, has yet to acknowledge Biden’s victory.
Biden has spent days huddled with advisers as he weighs cabinet appointments, receives congratulatory calls from world leaders and maps out the policies he will pursue after taking office on January 20. He is expected to continue meeting with advisers privately on Sunday.
Biden has won 306 votes in the state-by-state Electoral College system that determines the presidential winner, according to Edison Research, far more than the 270 needed to secure a majority.
Trump garnered the same number of electoral votes in 2016 over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, a victory he has called “overwhelming” despite winning the national popular vote by about 3 million ballots.
TRUMP SUPPORTER RALLY
On Saturday, tens of thousands of Trump supporters ventured into Washington to echo his claims of voter fraud. The “MAGA Million March,” in reference to Trump’s campaign slogan of “Make America Great Again,” drew a crowd of flag-waving supporters to central Washington.
“Hundreds of thousands of people showing their support in DC will not stand in a rigged and corrupt election!” the president wrote on Twitter, although most of the crowd’s estimates were well below Trump’s figure.
Trump’s caravan cut through the crowd on its way to his golf course in Virginia, drawing cheers from protesters as the president waved from the back seat.
The march was largely peaceful, although numerous fights broke out between Trump supporters and counter-protesters that continued after dark. One person was stabbed and taken to a trauma center, the city’s fire department and emergency medical services said. The Washington Post reported that the stabbing occurred in the middle of a fight that broke out after 8 p.m.
Dozens of Proud Boys, a far-right group, marched through the streets, some wearing helmets and ballistic vests, while members of the far-left movement known as Antifa organized their own counter-demonstrations.
City police arrested at least 10 people, including several accused of assault.
With his chances of reversing the result practically extinct, Trump has discussed with his advisers possible media companies that would keep him in the limelight ahead of a possible 2024 run for the White House, his aides said.
The states are in the process of certifying their election results. The Electoral College meets to vote for the new president on December 14.
Biden’s election for White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said this week that a swift transition is necessary to ensure the government is prepared to roll out a potential coronavirus vaccine early next year.
Addressing the devastating pandemic will be a top priority for Biden. The United States set a new daily record for new cases on Friday for the fourth day in a row.
More than 244,000 people in the country have died from the coronavirus since the pandemic began.
Trump has done little in the past two weeks with some of the administration’s top pre-election priorities. The stimulus deal he tried to pass in the final days of the campaign with ever-higher bids looks dead for now.
His briefing on the coronavirus on Friday ended a long time out of the public eye. He has stopped calling out governors who are pushing more aggressive blockades. And even his prized ban on the Chinese app TikTok has been rejected, for now.
Trump did not speak publicly since Nov. 7, the day news organizations declared Biden the winner, until Friday afternoon. It was the longest period of time without addressing the public since he took office.
The void has been filled with constant speculation about the advice Trump is receiving from family members and others on how and when to acknowledge that he is not getting a second term, and what is the best way to protect his legacy and your brand, even for a possible comeback. in 2024.
Trump’s inaction, coupled with his blocking of Biden’s ability to access federal agencies by refusing to budge, leaves the nation in an unusual state with its outgoing president not doing the job and its incoming leader locked out of key functions.
National security
At the same time, abrupt personnel movements at the Pentagon and at Homeland Security have created unrest even among some of the president’s allies. The idea that Trump is putting national security at risk is gaining traction daily.
Senate Republicans, including James Lankford of Oklahoma, have insisted that Biden begin receiving intelligence reports.
“If that doesn’t happen by Friday, I’ll step in,” Lankford, who sits on the Senate’s Committee on Government Affairs and National Security, said Wednesday. It is unclear if Lankford intervened as promised.
When he broke his silence, Trump suggested for the first time since Election Day that he might have lost to Biden. He made the comment in rejecting more lockdowns in response to a nationwide surge in coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
“Whatever happens in the future, who knows what administration it will be, I suppose time will tell, but I can tell you that this administration will not be closed,” Trump said.
No evidence
On Twitter, Trump continued his claims of victory amid what he says was a “rigged election” plagued with fraudulently cast votes and failed accounts in favor of Biden. But the campaign has not provided evidence to back up those claims, and its legal challenges collapsed in several states on Friday.
The president suffered another setback when news networks called Georgia for Biden. That would give Biden 306 electoral votes, well above the 270 needed to win, leaving Trump with 232. The 50-state presidential elections have been called by news organizations such as the Associated Press and major networks.
Biden’s clues in a series of crucial transition states are large enough to withstand any count save for a massive and unprecedented error in tabulation.
Preparing for the transition
At the White House, some aides are working on transition folders for the new administration, updating their resumes and contacting friends and former colleagues about possible jobs.
Biden, meanwhile, advances as the victor. The president-elect formed a panel of coronavirus experts, appointed White House staff and spoke with congressional leaders and heads of state. Biden, who Trump mocked throughout the campaign for “hiding in his basement,” has answered questions from reporters and his transition team held their first press conference on Friday.
But although Trump has withdrawn from the public eye, he has been busy consulting with advisers and lawyers about his options and his political future. The president has begun to stretch his days in the Oval Office more than usual, not leaving the residence until after 8 p.m. most nights this past week, and surveying allies on how they think he should approach the next weeks.
In a conversation with Fox News reporter Geraldo Rivera, Trump said that he would “do the right thing” but wanted to see “what the states do” to certify their election results in the coming weeks.
He told Washington Examiner columnist Byron York that he thought “maybe” he had lost, before finally rejecting the idea. Trump said it was important to file legal challenges to examine the fraud allegations.
“Never bet against me,” Trump said.
But Trump is not acting like a man who is betting he will prevail.
Mad rush
Other actions can be seen as a tacit recognition that the president’s days are likely numbered. The administration is rushing plans to auction drilling rights at the U.S. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in what appeared to be an offer to issue leases before Biden, who has pledged to protect the region, takes over the position. And Trump announced a new slate of judicial nominations on Friday as he and McConnell scramble to fill vacancies ahead of the transfer of power.
The White House provided a list of Trump’s actions since the election, which included the approval of disaster declarations for Puerto Rico and Florida, and the issuance of a strategic plan on intellectual property.
Deere, the White House spokesman, added: “He is also working to promote significant economic stimulus, engaging members of Congress in a government funding proposal and ensuring that state and local governments have what they need to respond to the ongoing pandemic. “
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