Trump ignores election defeat in 64 second White House speech
24 November 2020, 19:05
Donald Trump has made a surprise 64 second speech taking credit for a stock market bounce caused by Joe Biden's election success, while still refusing to comment on his defeat.
In one of few public appearances since the Democrats took victory, the US president celebrated the Dow passing the 30,000 milestone, a new record high.
He also said he was “thrilled” with developments in recent weeks towards a Covid-19 vaccine, with Pfizer, Moderna and Oxford-AstraZeneca all reporting high effectivity rates.
The president then abruptly exited the White House briefing room without taking questions from reporters, making it three weeks since he answered questions.
It comes after Mr Trump accepted on Monday that a formal US transition should begin for president-elect Joe Biden to take office.
Read more: Transition from Trump to Joe Biden officially begins
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In the first signal at concession since his defeat became clear, the president said the General Services Administration (GSA) - the federal agency overseeing the handover - must “do what needs to be done”.
The agency has ascertained that Joe Biden is the “apparent winner” of the 3 November election.
But Mr Trump vowed to continue contesting his election defeat, even as a growing number of US judges rejected the Trump campaign's attempts to file lawsuits.
...fight, and I believe we will prevail! Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 23, 2020
He tweeted: “Our case STRONGLY continues, we will keep up the good fight, and I believe we will prevail!
“Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same.”
