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President Donald Trump stated Thursday he would leave office if President-elect Joe Biden is chosen by the Electoral College subsequent month, acknowledging for the primary time what a lot of the nation had concluded almost three weeks in the past.
“Certainly I will,” Trump advised a reporter when requested whether or not he would leave the White House if the Dec. 14 vote certifies Biden. “And you know that.”
In his first remarks to reporters for the reason that Nov. three normal election, the president additionally made clear that he had no intention to concede, suggesting he would proceed with authorized challenges to the vote. Some of these challenges have been thrown out by or withdrawn from courts.
Trump’s refusal to concede has delayed the presidential transition course of because the nation faces a once-in-a-century well being disaster. Public well being officers, together with Dr. Anthony Fauci, have stated a easy transition is essential for the efficient distribution of vaccines for COVID-19, which has claimed greater than 263,000 American lives. Biden has made addressing the coronavirus a cornerstone of his incoming administration.
Three vaccines look like promising although it is unclear when any of them might be distributed. Pfizer and BioNTech have reportedly requested emergency approval from the Food and Drug Administration for his or her vaccine. Moderna and an AstraZeneca-Oxford partnership have additionally produced vaccines.
Forecasting when or if Trump would concede has been a political parlor recreation for weeks. In a Nov. 15 tweet, the president appeared to point Biden had received earlier than baselessly alleging the election had been taken from him.
“He only won in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA,” Trump tweeted in an obvious reference to the president-elect. “I concede NOTHING! We have a long way to go. This was a RIGGED ELECTION!”
Twitter added a label to the tweet: “This claim about election fraud is disputed.”
On Nov. 23, the president appeared to inch nearer to an announcement resembling a concession, saying in a sequence of tweets that he would authorize his workforce to have interaction in “preliminary protocols” for a transition course of. Still, he vowed to battle, saying “Our case STRONGLY continues.”
The Trump administration has already permitted the beginning of a proper transition.
(This story has not been edited by Newslivenation workers and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)