WASHINGTON, Nov 27, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – President Donald Trump said Thursday
for the first time that he would leave the White House if Joe Biden is
officially confirmed the winner of the US election, even as he railed against
the “rigged” vote.
Trump has made an unprecedented attempt to defy the results of the election
by refusing to concede, spreading wild theories about stolen ballots and
launching baseless legal challenges that have been thrown out by courts.
Answering his first questions from reporters since the November 3 vote, the
president moved closer to accepting that he would serve only one term in
office before Biden is inaugurated on January 20.
When asked if he would leave the White House if the Electoral College
confirmed Biden’s victory, Trump said, “Certainly I will. And you know that.”
But “if they do, they made a mistake,” he said, adding, “It’s going to be a
very hard thing to concede.”
“I think that there will be a lot of things happening between now and
(January) 20th,” he said.
The Electoral College, which determines the White House winner, will meet
on December 14 to certify Biden’s victory, with Biden receiving 306 votes to
Trump’s 232.
“This election was a fraud,” Trump said, again without providing any
evidence during his remarks to reporters at the White House after he spoke to
military personnel via video-link on the Thanksgiving holiday.
He described the US voting infrastructure as “like a third-world country.”
Earlier in the day he tweeted that “this was a 100% RIGGED ELECTION,” while
on Wednesday he called on his Republican supporters “to turn the election
over.”
– No proof of fraud –
President-elect Biden has said that Americans “won’t stand” for attempts to
derail the vote outcome, and urged for Americans to unite to fight the
worsening pandemic.
More than 260,000 people have died in the US from Covid-19, with daily
death tolls surging to 2,000 on recent days.
Trump’s refusal to concede the election to Biden has added to the countless
norms he has torn up during his four years in power.
Supporters suggest he is already eyeing a run for president in 2024.
Trump, 74, is alleging — among other conspiracy theories — that voting
machines deliberately deleted millions of his votes, though the government
election security agency declared it “the most secure” election in US
history.
Under pressure from some senior Republicans, Trump this week ended his
blockade of government assistance to ease Biden’s preparation for assuming
the presidency.
Trump said Thursday he would soon travel to Georgia to campaign ahead of
two key runoff elections that will decide which party controls the Senate.
Biden, 78, this week introduced a slate of veteran diplomats and policy-
makers who will make up his national security and foreign policy team,
saying: “America is back, ready to lead the world.”
He said that in his first 100 days in office, he would tackle the Covid
crisis, scrap Trump policies “damaging” the environment and push legislation
offering millions of undocumented US residents a route to citizenship.