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Donald Trump has come closer than ever to admitting that he lost the US presidential election, suggesting that “time will tell,” but without reaching a formal concession to President-elect Joe Biden.
In his first public comments since his defeat was announced, Trump appeared to surprise himself by slipping while discussing the possibility of a Biden administration imposing a national lockdown to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
“Ideally, we don’t go to a confinement” the president told reporters in the rose garden of the White House. “I will not go, this administration will not go to a shutdown. Hopefully, whatever happens in the future, who knows what administration it will be ”.
Trump added: “I think time will tell. But I can tell you that this administration will not be closed. “
Biden was proclaimed the winner of the election last Saturday, a result Trump has refused to acknowledge by launching legal challenges based on unsubstantiated allegations of fraud. The Department of Homeland Security declared Thursday that it was the safest election in US history with no evidence that votes were compromised or altered.
The president had issued dozens of tweets and retweets, but had not been seen in public, except at a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. It was the longest period the American people had gone without hearing him speak since he took office.
Finally, on Friday, Trump held a press conference at the White House to provide an update on Operation Warp Speed, the effort to create a vaccine for Covid-19. The event, attended by Vice President Mike Pence and coronavirus task force coordinator Deborah Birx, took place a day after the US set a single-day record of more than 160,000 new cases.
Trump said he expects a vaccine to be available to the entire population as soon as April and an emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine “extremely soon.” Pfizer has said it expects to report the required safety data next week and can then apply for an emergency use authorization.
Although he appeared deflated, with gray hair instead of the usual blonde, Trump still plunged into familiar territory, bragging about economic recovery and settling scores with one of his political enemies, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
The government would not deliver a coronavirus vaccine in New York state when it becomes available, Trump said, because the state has promised to do its own review to ensure its safety.
Cuomo “doesn’t trust where the vaccine comes from,” Trump complained. “These come from the best companies anywhere in the world, the best laboratories in the world, but he doesn’t trust the fact that it’s this White House, this administration, so we won’t deliver it to New York until we have clearance to do it and it hurts me to say that. “
Cuomo dismissed the attack. In an interview on MSNBC, the governor said: “Nothing he said is true, surprise surprise. We are all excited about the possibilities of a vaccine. It’s not that people don’t trust the vaccine companies, the drug companies. Pfizer is a large New York company, Regeneron is a large New York company.
But an overwhelming percentage of Americans are concerned about political interference in the vaccination process, in the approval process, by the president. The American people trust the drug company more than the president. “
Criticism of the administration’s response to the virus, which has killed more than 243,000 in the United States, became a central argument for Biden ahead of the Nov.3 election. There have been more than 100,000 new confirmed cases reported daily for more than a week. The Secret Service is experiencing significant numbers, many believed to be related to Trump’s rallies in the final days of the campaign.
Biden has devoted the majority of his public comments to encouraging Americans to wear a mask and view the coronavirus as a threat without regard for political allegiance. He has not endorsed a national shutdown, but has called on Trump to take “urgent action.”
“The crisis does not respect dates on the calendar. It is accelerating right now, ”he said in a statement on Friday.
Public health experts have warned that Trump’s refusal to take aggressive action or coordinate with Biden’s team will only worsen the effects of the virus and hamper the nation’s ability to quickly distribute a vaccine next year.
Yet Trump continues to stall the presidential transition. When a Fox Business interviewer suggested that it would be sad if Trump did not attend the January 20 inauguration, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany responded, “I think the president will attend his own inauguration. It would have to be there, actually. “
There is no evidence of widespread fraud in the elections. Officials from both political parties have publicly stated that the elections went well and international observers confirmed that there were no serious irregularities. Trump’s legal team continues with electoral lawsuits that have gained little traction in court.
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