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November 12, 2020

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Biden pledges to overcome a truculent Trump

Source: AP | 00:18 UTC+8 November 12, 2020 | Print Edition

Vowing 鈥渢o get right to work,鈥 US president-elect Joe Biden shrugged off incumbent President Donald Trump鈥檚 fierce refusal to accept the election outcome as 鈥渋nconsequential,鈥 even as Democrats elsewhere warned that the Republican president鈥檚 actions were dangerous.

Raising claims of voter fraud, Trump has blocked the incoming president from receiving intelligence briefings and withheld federal funding intended to help facilitate the transfer of power.

Trump鈥檚 resistance, backed by senior Republicans in Washington and across the country, could also prevent background investigations and security clearances for prospective staff and access to federal agencies to discuss transition planning.

As some Democrats and former Republican officials warned of serious consequences, Biden sought to lower the national temperature on Tuesday as he addressed reporters from a makeshift transition headquarters near his home in downtown Wilmington.

Biden described Trump鈥檚 position as little more than an 鈥渆mbarrassing鈥 mark on the outgoing president鈥檚 legacy, while predicting that Republicans on Capitol Hill would eventually accept the reality of Biden鈥檚 victory. The Republican resistance, Biden said, 鈥渄oes not change the dynamic at all in what we鈥檙e able to do.鈥

Additional intelligence briefings 鈥渨ould be useful,鈥 Biden added, but 鈥渨e don鈥檛 see anything slowing us down.鈥

The measured comments come as Biden prepares to confront dueling national crises that actively threaten the health, safety and economic security of millions of Americans irrespective of the political debate. Coronavirus infections, hospitalizations and deaths are surging, the economy faces the prospect of long-term damage and the nation鈥檚 political and cultural divides may be worsening.

Biden is betting that his low-key approach and bipartisan outreach will help him govern effectively on Day One. But just a little over two months before Biden will be inaugurated, Trump and his allies seemed determined to make his transition as difficult as possible.

From his Twitter account on Tuesday, Trump again raised claims of 鈥渕assive ballot counting abuse鈥 and predicted he would ultimately win the race he has already lost.

His allies on Capitol Hill, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have encouraged the president鈥檚 accusations.

Trump鈥檚 tweets were swiftly flagged by the social media network as disputed claims about election fraud. There is no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.

In fact, election officials from both political parties have stated publicly that the election went well, and international observers confirmed there were no serious irregularities.

The issues Trump鈥檚 campaign and its allies have pointed to are typical in every election: problems with signatures, secrecy envelopes and postal marks on mail-in ballots, as well as the potential for a small number of ballots miscast or lost.

With Biden leading Trump by wide margins in key battleground states, none of those issues would have any impact on the outcome of the election.

America鈥檚 allies began to acknowledge what Trump would not. French President Emmanuel Macron met Biden via video conference. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, among six world leaders, congratulated Biden.

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