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President Donald Trump insisted tonight that he would never put the United States in a coronavirus lockdown, but said “time will tell” if another administration takes office in January and does so.
It’s the closest he’s ever come to acknowledging that President-elect Joe Biden could succeed him.
In his first public remarks since Biden was widely screened last Saturday as the winner, Trump said he expects a coronavirus vaccine to be available to the entire population beginning in April, amid a flurry of new infections that has brought daily case count to record. maximums.
In remarks broadcast in the White House rose garden, Trump also appeared to acknowledge for the first time the possibility of an upcoming Biden administration, though he did not admit to the race and did not mention his Democratic rival by name.
“This administration will not enter a lockdown”
.@realDonaldTrump Says His Administration Will Not Enter A Covid-19 Lockdown, Adding “Time Will Tell” Which Administration Will Be In Office In January | More: https://t.co/ET2Zbdz8P2 pic.twitter.com/Fjv0aFxbGf
– RTÉ News (@rtenews) November 13, 2020
“Ideally, we will not go to a lockdown. I will not go, this administration will not go to a lockdown,” he said. “Hopefully the … uh … whatever happens in the future, who knows what administration it will be. I guess time will tell.”
Since the Nov.3 election, Trump has persisted with unsubstantiated allegations of widespread voter fraud.
But while he has continued to make such claims on Twitter, he did not repeat them in his public comments today.
The last time Trump spoke, in the White House meeting room two days after the election, he said without evidence that if “legal” votes were counted, he would “easily win” the election.
Biden solidified his victory over Trump today after the state of Georgia went his way, leaving Trump little hope of reversing the outcome through legal challenges and recount.
The Republican president said today that he expects an emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine “very soon.”
Pfizer has said it expects to report the required safety data next week and can then apply for an emergency use authorization.
The comments came after Trump received an update on ‘Operation Warp Speed’, an effort by the administration to push development of a vaccine.
Criticism of the administration’s response to the virus, which has killed more than 235,000 Americans, became a rallying cry for Democrats ahead of the election.
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