Washington: Donald Trump does not have plans to immediately concede the election to Joe Biden after his Democratic rival pulled ahead in key states that could deliver him enough electoral votes to win the race for the White House, a senior aide of the president was quoted as saying by a media report Friday.
According to latest US media projections, Biden pulled ahead of Trump in Georgia. He has also taken the lead over Trump in Pennsylvania.
Trump cannot find a route to 270 electoral votes without Georgia and Pennsylvania, so his chances of securing reelection will hinge on developments in the two key battleground states.
Georgia’s 16 electoral votes would be enough to guarantee at least a tie in the 538-member Electoral College, pending results from the other uncalled states. Pennsylvania, which has 20 electoral college votes would single-handedly deliver the White House to Biden.
Reacting to the latest developments, the senior Trump aide told Fox News that the president’s counsellors have been giving him advice in both directions, with some telling Trump that a concession is the correct thing to do, and others pushing him to continue to fight to ensure the vote was correct and legitimate.
The aide, who was not identified, told Trump’s favourite news channel that the president is “simply skeptical.”
“He warned about this for months,” the aide said. “The media didn’t take it seriously, and now, here we are with the scenario.”
The aide said, though, that the president “may ultimately concede.”
“He’s just not there yet,” the aide added.
The Trump campaign has already filed lawsuits in a number of states this week, seeking access to poll watching, as well as a federal lawsuit in Nevada urging officials to stop counting “illegal” ballots, claiming thousands of ballots were sent to non-residents and the deceased.
The president will almost certainly ask for a recount in Pennsylvania, the report said, noting that this will be in addition to the one he and his campaign announced in Wisconsin.
He will also likely ask for a recount in Georgia as well, and if he doesn’t overtake Biden, he will likely request a recount in Arizona, too, the report said.
Asked if this would be resolved any time in the near future, the aide told Fox News, “I don’t see how it is.”
Meanwhile, Trump campaign general counsel Matt Morgan on Friday said: “This election is not over.”
“The false projection of Joe Biden as the winner is based on results in four states that are far from final,” Morgan said.
“Georgia is headed for a recount, where we are confident we will find ballots improperly harvested, and where President Trump will ultimately prevail.”
Trump Thursday vowed that he and his campaign would “not allow corruption to steal” the election, while maintaining that he will win the 2020 presidential race.
“If you count the legal votes, I easily win,” he said. “We will not allow corruption to steal such an important election—or any election for that matter.” Trump, however, did not give any evidence of electoral malpractice.
PTI
