Donald Trump says he will leave the White House if the Electoral College votes for Joe Biden | US News

Donald Trump He said he would leave the White House when the Electoral College votes for Democratic-elect Joe Biden, as soon as the outgoing president concedes defeat.

Biden won the presidential election With 306 Electoral College votes – Much more than the 270 needed – versus 232. Biden Trump also leads with over 6 million in the popular vote.

Trump has defied tradition thus far by refusing to admit defeat, instead making a series of groundless allegations of alleged ballot fraud and launching legal attempts to challenge the results in several states such as Pennsylvania and Michigan.

But desperate efforts by Trump and his aides to turn the results in key states, either through lawsuits or by lobbying state lawmakers, have failed.

Speaking to reporters over the Thanksgiving holiday, Trump said that if Biden – who will be sworn in on January 20 – is approved as the winner of the election by the Electoral College, he will leave the White House.

Trump’s remarks, made to reporters at the White House after speaking to the soldiers during the traditional Thanksgiving speech for US servicemen, seem to bring him one step closer to admitting defeat.

When asked if he would leave the White House if the college vote was against him, Trump said: “I definitely will. You know it,” adding: “If they did, they’d made a mistake.”

However, Trump said it would be “very difficult to concede” and declined to say whether he would attend Biden’s inauguration, which is scheduled for January 20.

This was the first time he had received questions from journalists since Election Day, and at times he turned to my fight, describing a reporter as “lightweight” and telling him, “Don’t talk to me that way.”

The Trump administration has already given the green light to begin a formal transition process. But Trump objected to moving forward with Biden.

Trump said, “I think it is not right that he is trying to choose a cabinet,” although officials from both teams are already working together to motivate the Biden team to speed up.

At one point, he urged reporters not to let Biden take credit for getting suspended coronavirus vaccines.

He said, “Don’t give him the credit for getting vaccinated because the vaccinations I’ve been and have paid people more than ever.”

As to whether or not he plans to formally announce his candidacy to run again in 2024 – as he discussed with his aides – Trump “didn’t want to talk about 2024 yet.”

The Electoral College is scheduled to meet on December 14 when the candidate electors of each state cast their ballots for the winner of the state’s presidential ballot. The vote is officially counted by Congress on January 6.

When Biden campaign spokesperson Michael Gwen was asked about Trump’s comments, he said, “President-elect Biden won 306 electoral votes. Countries continue to ratify these results, and the Electoral College will meet soon to ratify that result,” adding, “Biden will be sworn in as president.” On January 20, 2021. “

Trump has shown that he intends to remain in the political battle until the end of his term, and on Thursday said that on December 5 he will travel to Georgia, a powerful Republican country narrowly lost to Biden, to campaign for Republican candidates for the Senate.

Georgia’s January 5 run-off election will determine whether Republicans maintain a majority in the Senate.

Biden and Trump stayed close to home to celebrate Thanksgiving as the coronavirus pandemic spreads across the country.

Biden spent the vacation with his family in Delaware, providing a presidential-style address in a message posted on Twitter. He said Americans are making “a common sacrifice for the entire country” and a “statement of common purpose” by staying home with their immediate families.

Trump often loves to celebrate the holidays at Florida’s Mar-a-Largo resort. But on Thursday he stayed in the Washington area, spending part of the morning at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia where he played a round of golf.

The United States quickly Close to 13 million confirmed cases of Covid-19By Thursday, more than 263,000 people had died from the Coronavirus.