White House 'split' as Trump refuses to concede

President Donald Trump is t one to mit defeat. But he faces a stark choice w that Democrat Joe Biden has been declared winner and President-elect: concede graciously for sake of nation or don't — and get evicted anyway.

After nearly four tortured days of counting yielded a victory for Biden, Trump was still insisting race was t over. He threw out baseless allegations that election wasn't fair and "illegal" votes were counted, promised a flurry of legal action and fired off all-caps tweets falsely insisting he'd "WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT."

While some in his circle were nudging Trump to concede graciously, many of his Republican allies, including on Capitol Hill, were egging him on or giving him to process his loss — at least for time being.

Around a unusally-empty White House due to pandemic social distancing measures,  White House correspondent Jonathan Lemire says mood is tense.

" director of personnel in White House let word be kwn to ncies across government that if anyone was perceived as looking for ir next job, y should be immediately terminated because that would be seen as disloyal to this president who has t yet conceded," Lemire says.

Trump is t expected to formally concede, according to people close to him, but is likely to grudgingly vacate White House at end of his term. His ongoing efforts to paint election as unfair are seen both as an effort to soo a bruised ego and to show his loyal base of supporters that he is still fighting. That could be key to keeping m energized for what comes next.

Allies suggested that if Trump wants to launch a media empire in coming years, he has an incentive to prolong drama. So, too, if he intends to keep door open to a possible 2024 comeback — he would be only a year older than Biden is w.

Trump's ult sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, have also urged ir far to keep fighting and challenged Republicans to stand with m.

(Im Credit: AP)