Trump declines to concede election to Biden, stating ‘I guess time will tell’
President Donald Trump declined to acknowledge his electoral defeat to President-elect Joe Biden on Friday in his first public remarks since the race was called for his Democratic rival nearly a week ago.
Speaking in the White House Rose Garden on the development of vaccines and therapeutics for the coronavirus, the president did not take questions, and only once alluded to the election in which Biden secured 306 Electoral College votes to Trump’s 232. At least 270 are needed to win the presidency.
“I will not go – this administration will not be going to a lockdown,” Trump said, addressing the acceleration of the pandemic across the country. “Hopefully the, whatever happens in the future – who knows which administration will be, I guess time will tell – but I can tell you this administration will not go to a lockdown.”
The Trump administration has not allowed the federal government to begin preparing for a transition to the incoming Biden administration, as the president’s campaign continues to battle the results of the election in court.
The president has resisted conceding to Biden since he passed the 270 Electoral College vote mark on Saturday. Trump has only once made public remarks since election night on Nov. 3, and in the past several days has tweeted conspiracy theories asserting that the election was altered by widespread voter fraud. His campaign has been unable to substantiate his claims.
Biden continues to build out his transition team and on Friday met with his coronavirus advisers on the state of the pandemic.
“This crisis demands a robust and immediate federal response, which has been woefully lacking,” Biden said in a statement Friday afternoon. “I am the president-elect, but I will not be president until next year. The crisis does not respect dates on the calendar, it is accelerating right now. Urgent action is needed today, now, by the current administration.”
This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 2:25 PM with the headline "Trump declines to concede election to Biden, stating ‘I guess time will tell’."
