On a day destined for unity, Trump and Biden honor veterans separately

US President Donald Trump attends a “National Day of Observance” wreath laying ceremony on November 11, 2020 at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. – US President Donald Trump made his first official post-election appearance on Wednesday in what should be a moment of national unity to mark Veterans Day, now clouded by his refusal to acknowledge Joe’s victory. Biden. The president visited Arlington National Cemetery, four days after the US media projected that his Democratic rival would take the White House. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)

WASHINGTON, United States – US President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden attended separate and simultaneous ceremonies to mark Veterans Day Wednesday as what should have been a moment of national unity it was clouded by the Republican’s refusal to acknowledge electoral defeat.

On a gray, rainy day in Washington, the president visited Arlington National Cemetery for a somber wreath-laying ceremony, his first official appearance since the Nov. 3 vote. He made no public comment.

At the same time, Biden appeared at the Korean War Memorial in Philadelphia for his own solemn wreath-laying ceremony, four days after US media projected the former vice president to win the White House.

Since the media called for the race, Trump has not addressed the nation other than via Twitter and a written statement issued to mark Veterans Day, and has traditionally not granted Biden a time a winner is projected in a US vote.

US President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden pay their respects during a Veterans Day parade at the Korean War Memorial Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 11, 2020. – Leaders From close U.S. allies.On November 10, 2020, they phoned the president – they elected Joe Biden and pledged to work together, but in an extraordinary breakup, America’s top diplomat, Mike Pompeo, insisted that Donald Trump would remain in power. The transition team said Biden planned to work with the Europeans in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change, one of the many areas in which Trump differed markedly from allies. (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP)

With Covid-19 cases breaking records across the country and states imposing new restrictions in an effort to contain the virus before winter arrives, Trump appears to have sidelined normal presidential duties.

Instead, he has remained locked inside the presidential mansion, claiming he is about to win and filing voter fraud lawsuits that have thus far been backed by the flimsiest evidence.

In the early hours of Wednesday he was tweeting new claims with no evidence of election victories and ballot tampering, despite the consensus of international observers, world leaders, local election officials and the US media that the vote was free and fair.

Claiming that a poll in Wisconsin on Election Day had resulted in “possibly an illegal suppression,” he said he was “now preparing to win the state,” which was called for Biden a week ago.

“Many of those ‘deplorable’ cases!” he added on Twitter.

Some Republicans were adding their voices to growing calls for the president to back down, and experts warned that his refusal to do so was undermining the democratic process and delaying the transition to Biden, who will take office in January.

Among them was Montana Republican Secretary of State Corey Stapleton, who announced the “incredible things” that Trump accomplished in office.

“But that time is over. Tilt your hat, bite your lip and congratulate @JoeBiden, ”he tweeted.

– ‘Shame’ –

Yet some of the GOP’s most powerful figures, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, appear to back Trump in his attempt to undermine Biden’s victory.

“There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration,” Pompeo said at a sometimes irritable press conference Tuesday, while McConnell has said the president was “100 percent within his rights” to challenge the election in the courts.

None of the lawsuits appear to have the potential to change the outcome and even a manual recount announced Wednesday in Georgia, where Biden has a paper-thin edge, is unlikely to alter fundamental math.

“Georgia voters deserve accurate and safe results. We stand behind our numbers, ”Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger tweeted.

Nor was Trump’s victory in Alaska enough, which the US media asked him for on Wednesday, putting another three electoral votes in his column.

“I just think it’s a shame, frankly,” Biden said Tuesday, when asked what he thought about the president’s refusal to concede defeat.

But otherwise, he has largely ignored Trump, indicating that despite the Republican’s attempts to hinder his transition to power, he was increasingly a president on hold.

Since his projected victory was announced on Saturday, Biden has addressed the nation, established a task force on coronavirus, spoke with world leaders, including Trump allies, began vetting potential Cabinet members and delivered political speeches.

The only known activities of the president outside the White House have been playing golf twice over the weekend.

Typically, routine presidential intelligence briefings have been off the daily schedule. He has not mentioned the dramatic spike in the Covid-19 pandemic across the country.

Trump’s only significant presidential action has been the abrupt firing of Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday, which he announced on Twitter.

His inability to compromise has no legal force in and of itself, but the General Services Administration, the generally low-key agency that runs Washington’s bureaucracy, has refused to approve the transition, delaying funding and security reporting.

Biden’s inauguration is January 20.

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French Media Agency

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