Donald Trump has insisted he is not conceding the US election, despite seemingly acknowledging for the first time that Democrat Joe Biden won.
“He won because the Election was Rigged,” the Republican president wrote on Twitter, repeating unsubstantiated claims of fraud . About an hour later he said he wasn’t conceding the three November vote.He has launched a slew of lawsuits in key states, but has not provided any evidence to back his claims of fraud.All the lawsuits have thus far been unsuccessful.On Friday, election officials said the vote was the “most secure in American history” and there was “no evidence that any electoral system deleted or lost votes, changed votes or was in any way compromised”.Meanwhile, Mr Biden remains president-elect.The Democrat has 306 votes within the body – the system the US uses to settle on its president – which far exceeds the 270 threshold to win. Any recounts or legal challenges aren’t expected to overturn the general result.Mr Biden’s lead within the popular vote has also surpassed five million.Nevertheless, Mr Trump had refused to acknowledge Mr Biden’s victory until – apparently – now.In a press conference on Friday, Mr Trump said “who knows” which administration would be in power within the future.His refusal to concede has heightened concerns about the US government’s ability, going forward, to tackle growing Covid-19 infection rates.Some Biden supporters consider the president’s comments amounted to a sort of concession, although it had been faraway from unqualified.”He won”, began President Trump’s initial tweet, before descending into his customary slew of unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud.
Mr Biden won, continued the president, because there have been “no vote watchers or observers allowed”, repeating his claims of a conspiracy led by the left and therefore the media – while still presenting no evidence.
Twitter added warnings to Mr Trump’s latest allegations of wrongdoing on Sunday, saying: “This claim of fraud is disputed.”The Trump campaign has launched a series of lawsuits saying Republican poll watchers were wrongly denied access to watch the counting of ballots in key battleground states.Election officials have denied this and insisted rules were followed. Most of the lawsuits are dismissed over lack of evidence.However, thousands of Mr Trump’s supporters protested in Washington DC on Saturday to back his appeals.Flag-carrying demonstrators were joined by members of far-right groups including the Proud Boys, some wearing helmets and bullet-proof vests.The largely peaceful demonstration saw some violence later within the evening, as Trump supporters and counter-protesters clashed in several skirmishes.Officials said 20 people had been arrested on a spread of charges, including assault and weapons possession. One stabbing was reported. Two cops were also injured.Mr Trump’s refusal to concede has stalled the traditional handover process to the new government, before the 20 January inauguration.The General Services Administration (GSA), the govt agency tasked with beginning the method , has yet to recognize Mr Biden and his campaigner Kamala Harris as winners.The Biden team haven’t been given access to classified security briefings, federal agencies and funding needed to make sure a smooth transition of power.Speaking to NBC on Sunday, Mr Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Klain, said the method needed to start in the week to permit the country to specialize in tackling the corona virus pandemic.The US is grappling with a number of its worst Covid-19 infection rates since the pandemic began, with quite 180,000 new cases and 1,400 deaths on Friday. The country also has the very best number of infections and deaths within the world, with quite 10.9m cases since the pandemic began.”Joe Biden’s getting to become president of the us within the midst of an ongoing crisis,” said Mr Klain. “That has got to be a seamless transition.”Leading US infectious diseases expert, Dr Anthony Fauci, echoed his comments, saying it might be better for public health if the transition began immediately.Mr Klain also dismissed Mr Trump’s latest conflicting comments on social media.”Donald Trump’s Twitter feed doesn’t make Joe Biden president or not president”, he said. “The American people did that.”