Trump comes out of electoral sadness to make his first public statements

WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 13: United States President Donald Trump speaks about Operation Warp Speed ​​at the White House Rose Garden on November 13, 2020 in Washington, DC. It is the first time President Trump has spoken since last week’s election night, as COVID-19 infections rise in the United States. Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images / AFP

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump will make his first public comments since his electoral defeat with a speech at the White House Friday afternoon on US plans for a vaccine against the resurgence of the COVID-19 virus.

A spokesperson announced the remarks at the Rose Garden at 4:00 pm (2100 GMT) as an “update” on Operation Warp Speed, the government’s partnership with pharmaceutical companies to develop and distribute a vaccine.

The report comes in the wake of Democrat Joe Biden solidifying his election victory with a final tally of 306 votes in the presidential state-by-state Electoral College, up from 232 for Trump.

The result came after several US networks called the traditionally Republican-leaning Georgia in favor of Biden, while Trump took North Carolina.

Trump won by the same margin in 2016 against Hillary Clinton, and has repeatedly referred to his own 306-vote victory as a “landslide victory.”

It was unclear whether the outgoing president would answer questions or discuss his refusal to admit defeat.

He has not had a press conference since last week’s election and the last time he addressed the nation was on November 5, when he falsely claimed to have won.

Trump has spent the past 10 days consumed by his search for a conspiracy theory that Biden was declared the winner only through massive ballot manipulation.

Despite the statement by his own intelligence officials Thursday that the elections were “the safest in American history,” Trump and his right-wing media allies show no signs of abandoning their crusade.

On Friday, Trump tweeted thanks to supporters backing his claim that “the election was rigged” and said he could “come by and say hi” at a planned rally in Washington on Saturday.

“President Trump thinks he will be President Trump, he will have a second term,” spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said on Fox News.

Earlier Friday, Trump attended a briefing in the Oval Office on the search for vaccines, one of the first times he has conducted official business since the election.

During the post-election period, Trump has been absent from his normal presidential duties and has been silent on the rates of coronavirus infection that have skyrocketed across the country and deaths on the rise.

– Divided reality –

Despite a healthy majority of votes counted for Biden and days of unsuccessful attempts by Trump’s lawyers to present evidence of significant wrongdoing, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told Fox Business on Friday that his side was still convinced of victory.

“We believe that he won those elections,” he said. “We are moving forward here in the White House under the assumption that there will be a second term from Trump.”

Meanwhile, Biden is constantly preparing to take office on January 20, and the list of world leaders who accept that he will be the new president continues to grow.

China was the last nation on board, and a Foreign Ministry spokesman said “we express our congratulations.”

However, Biden’s new chief of staff, Ron Klain, told MSNBC late Thursday that Trump’s moves to block the incoming administration’s access to confidential government briefings pose a growing risk.

Klain highlighted the inability to join the preparations for the launch of the Covid vaccine in “February and March, when Joe Biden will be president.”

“The sooner we can get our transition experts to meet with the people who are planning the vaccination campaign, the more seamless it will be,” he said.

Top Republicans remain seemingly loyal to Trump, but there appears to be growing discomfort within the party over the blocking of Biden’s transition team.

Senator James Lankford told Tulsa Radio KRMG earlier this week that he would give Trump until Friday to allow Biden to access the daily presidential intelligence briefing or “I will step in.”

John Bolton, a former Trump national security adviser and a popular figure in the tough foreign policy wing of the Republican Party, said his side has to “recognize the reality that Biden is president-elect.”

“They may not like it, but the country deserves to give it the preparation it needs,” he told NPR radio on Friday.

Since the election, Trump has only left the White House to play golf twice and to attend a brief Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

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