Trump defiant, says of his future ‘who knows’

Donald Trump said Friday that ‘time will tell’ if he remains president, in a momentary slip of his unprecedented refusal to concede his election defeat and help Democrat Joe Biden prepare to take power.

Trump broke his silence after a week without on-camera comments, speaking at a Rose Garden event to herald the imminent authorization of a coronavirus vaccine.

During a short speech about the vaccine work, Trump insisted that he would never again call for a lockdown to curb the virus’ spread.

Then he added, ‘Hopefully, the, the whatever happens in the future, who knows which administration it will be, I guess time will tell.’

The hint of doubt in Trump’s mind came despite him continuing to push a conspiracy theory that mass fraud — for which no evidence exists — robbed him of victory in the November 3 election.

On Friday, Trump tweeted thanks to supporters backing his claim that the ‘Election was Rigged’ and said he might ‘stop by and say hello’ at rallies planned in Washington on Saturday.

A number of groups under the banners of ‘Stop The Steal’, ‘Million MAGA March’ and ‘Women for America First’ have planned rallies for the day.

Speakers are reportedly to include prominent Trump supporters, including US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who has promoted the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory.

QAnon adherents claim Trump is waging a secret war against a global liberal cult of Satan-worshipping pedophiles.

Trump continues to block Biden’s ability to prepare his transition ahead of inauguration on January 20 and he has filed numerous lawsuits — unsuccessfully — to challenge vote counts around the country.

On Friday, a judge in Michigan issued another rejection of Republican claims of fraud.

Trump was speaking just after television networks projected results in the final two undeclared states — Biden winning the former Republican stronghold of Georgia in an extremely close race, and Trump getting North Carolina.

President-elect Joe Biden has won 306 votes in the state-by-state Electoral College that decides who wins the White House, against 232 for Donald Trump, US media projected on Friday.

Biden solidified his victory over Trump in the US election with a victory in traditionally Republican-leaning Georgia, called in his favor by CNN, ABC and other networks.

Trump — who also had 306 Electoral College votes when he beat Hillary Clinton in 2016 — claimed victory in North Carolina, CNN and NBC projected, putting his final tally this time around at 232.

Biden has been the presumptive winner of the election since victory in Pennsylvania took him over the 270-vote threshold on Saturday.

Georgia, one of five states flipped by Biden after going into Trump’s column last time around, hadn’t been won by a Democrat since Bill Clinton in 1992.

Trump took a comfortable early lead in the state as the largely rural vote was counted but it ended up being the closest race in the nation as the cities of Atlanta and Savannah began tabulating results.

Biden is currently up by some 14,000 votes, and a hand recount is expected to be completed next week. Audits of state-wide elections never bring the kind of reversal that Trump would need to change the result.

In traditionally-Republican North Carolina, a drive to get out Black voters by Democrats was not enough to overcome Trump’s hugely loyal base of white, non-college-educated men and rural voters.

Trump, who has refused to acknowledge defeat, was due later Friday to address the public for the first time since becoming the projected loser six days ago.

It was unclear whether he would take questions or finally address his defeat but Trump has repeatedly referred to his 306-vote victory in 2016 as a ‘landslide’ and a ‘shellacking.’

Meanwhile, the White House is planning for president Donald Trump to serve a second term despite his reelection loss, a top official said Friday.

‘We are moving forward here at the White House under the assumption that there will be a second Trump term,’ the outgoing president’s trade advisor Peter Navarro said on Fox Business Network.

Trump has yet to concede nearly a week after US media announced that his Democratic challenger Joe Biden had defeated him in the November 3 presidential election.

The president has made few public appearances since then and launched legal challenges in several states, alleging election fraud, but without providing any proof.

‘What we seek here is verifiable ballots, certifiable ballots and an investigation into what are growing numbers of allegations of fraud under signed affidavits by witnesses,’ Navarro said, repeating the unsubstantiated claims by Trump supporters.

Lamenting what he called ‘an immaculate deception,’ Navarro said any speculation about what Biden might do on trade policy or with regard to China ‘I think is moot at this point.’

Senior US federal and state election officials on Thursday said there is ‘no evidence’ that hackers were able to tamper with the vote, and most world leaders have congratulated Biden on his victory.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net