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US President Donald Trump appeared at his first public post-election event, on Wednesday, Veterans Day.
Trump visited Arlington National Cemetery, in his first official appearance, four days after the US media announced that his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, had won the race for the White House.
Since then, the president has only spoken to Americans on Twitter, and did not acknowledge Biden’s victory, as is American tradition, after announcing the victory of one of the candidates.
Trump locked himself in the White House, made accusations about his election victory and filed legal challenges for fraud that has yet to provide evidence of its authenticity.
While Biden made remarks to Americans, he formed a task force on the emerging corona virus, spoke with world leaders, including Trump allies, and began considering potential candidates for ministerial portfolios – the only known activities of the president outside of the Casa Blanca were playing golf twice over the weekend after the results were announced.
Trump’s most notable presidential move was the firing of Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday, and he announced it on Twitter.
There is no legal effect on Trump’s refusal to acknowledge Biden’s victory, but the General Services Administration, which handles administrative activities in Washington, refused to sign the transfer documents, hampering the president-elect’s access to funds and intelligence reports.
Biden’s inauguration ceremony will take place on January 20.
New appeals
The Trump campaign on Wednesday pushed ahead with its long-term litigation strategy in an effort to reverse Joe Biden’s victory in the Nov.3 election by filing a lawsuit in Michigan.
The Republican candidate’s team went to federal court to try to prevent Michigan from certifying the election results. Trump is behind by 148,000 votes, or 2.6 percentage points, in an unofficial vote count for Michigan, a crucial Midwestern state that won in 2016 but lost to Biden, according to media outlets.
Jake Rollo, a Michigan official, said in a statement that the Trump campaign was promoting false accusations to undermine public confidence in the state elections.
“They (the lawsuits) do not change the truth: Michigan’s elections were conducted fairly, safely, and transparently, and the results are a clear reflection of the will of the people,” he added.
Judges have thrown out several of Trump’s cases and legal experts say there is little chance of a change in the outcome through litigation.
