Published 13:29 IST, November 24th 2020
Donald Trump agrees to Biden transition but clarifies that he's not conceding the election
Donald Trump asked GSA Emily Murphy to 'do what needs to be done'. Continuing in the same tweet, the US President also asserted the 'good fight'
Despite the fact that he has not yet conceded defeat to the Presidential-elect Joe Biden, outgoing US President Donald Trump on Tuesday finally agreed to initiate protocols to transition to the next administration. Taking to Twitter, Trump asked the General Services Administration (GSA) to 'do what needs to be done'. Continuing in the same tweet, the US President also asserted that the 'good fight' will continue.
Thanking GSA Emily Murphy for her steadfast dedication and loyalty to the country, Trump said, "She has been harassed, threatened, and abused- and I do not want to see this happen to her, her family, or employees of GSA. Our case strongly continues, we will keep up the good. "
Trump; 'Will never concede to fake ballots'
Clarifying that his instruction to GSA Murphy does not have to do anything with the various cases of voter fraud in the 2020 US Elections, Donald Trump took to Twitter and stated that despite directing the GSA to move on with Joe Biden's transition, it will not prevent him from pursuing various cases on what he claims will go down as the most corrupt election in America's political history. 'Will never concede to fake ballots & Dominion,' he added.
Biden-Harris Transition Executive Director welcomes Trump's decision
Welcoming Trump's decision on the transition process, Biden-Harris Transition Executive Director Yohannes Abraham said that the decision is a needed step to begin tackling the challenges facing our nation, including getting the pandemic under control and our economy back on track.' The official statement released by Abraham also said that in the days ahead, transition officials will begin meeting with the federal officials to discuss the pandemic response, have a full accounting on national security interests and gain a complete understanding of Trump's administration's efforts to hollow out government agencies.
Joe Biden & Kamala Harris win US Elections 2020
After 4 days of vote counting, Democratic nominee Joe Biden was elected the 46th US President on Saturday (local time) with 284 electoral college votes, along with vice presidential-elect Kamala Harris. This came after Biden's victory in Pennsylvania which took his past the 270 electoral college votes that he needed to win. Despite the close call - Georgia, Nevada, Arizona and Pennsylvania turned out to be the four swing states that helped Biden secure the win. He also won 50.6% popular votes amassing 7,48,47,834 ballots.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will formally assume office in January 2021. Kamala Harris has now made history by becoming the first woman, the first woman of colour and first woman of South-Asian origin to become the Vice-President-in waiting of the United States. This isn't the first time the Democratic VP elect Harris has made history. She made history earlier by becoming the first Asian-American to be chosen as a Democratic vice presidential nominee. Several world leaders have taken the opportunity to congratulate Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as their supporters across the US had taken to streets to celebrate the victory.
Updated 13:29 IST, November 24th 2020