President Trump is marring his own accomplishments by refusing to concede that he lost last week’s election, according to presumptive President-elect Joe Biden.
“I just think it’s an embarrassment, quite frankly,” Biden told reporters Tuesday in Wilmington, Delaware. “How can I say this tactfully? I think it will not help the president’s legacy.”
Multiple outlets projected over the weekend that Biden, the two-term vice president, had clinched 270 Electoral College votes necessary for the White House. But the Trump campaign hasn’t recognized the results amid a slew of court challenges as lawyers insist every legal vote be tallied and question some state’s counting procedures.
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Yet, Biden was hopeful that Trump would accept defeat. His message to the incumbent?
“Mr. President, I look forward to speaking with you,” Biden said.
Trump administration officials are following the president’s lead. The General Services Administration, for instance, has declined to sign off on Biden starting the transition process.
Though Biden said he was aware that there was only one president at a time, he was adamant that his transition team would proceed, even without the designated funding. He did, however, contradict an aide who suggested legal action was “on the table.”
“We are already beginning the transition,” he said. “I’m confident the fact they’re not willing to acknowledge we won at this point is not of much consequence in our planning and what we’re able to do between now and January 20th.”
As the apparent president-elect, Biden has named a coronavirus task force and spoken to a raft of world leaders.
“I’m letting them know America is back. We’re back in the game,” he said.
The press briefing was convened to discuss the Supreme Court case questioning Obamacare’s constitutionality. Biden was joined by apparent Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
“Each and every vote for Joe Biden was a statement that healthcare should be a right, not a privilege,” Harris said. “Joe Biden won the election decisively.”
