Trump’s appeal rejected by court
Panel in Philadelphia rules president’s claims of election fraud in Pennsylvania “have no merit.”
WASHINGTON — President Trump said Thursday that he will leave the White House if the electoral college formalizes President- elect Joe Biden’s victory — even as he insisted such a decision would be a “mistake” — as he spent his Thanksgiving renewing baseless claims that “massive fraud” and crooked officials in battleground states caused his election defeat.
“Certainly I will. But you know that,” Trump said when asked whether he would vacate the building, allowing a peaceful transition of power in January. But Trump — taking questions Thursday for the f irst time since election day — insisted that “a lot of things” would happen between now and then that might alter the results.
The fact that a sitting American president even had to address whether or not he would leave office after losing reelection underscores the extent to which Trump has smashed one convention after another over the last three weeks. While there is no evidence of the kind of considerable fraud Trump has been alleging that would affect the outcome, he and his legal team have nonetheless been working to cast doubt on the integrity of the election and trying to overturn voters’ will in an unprecedented breach of democratic norms.
Trump spoke to reporters in the White House’s ornate Diplomatic Reception Room after holding a teleconference with U. S. military leaders stationed around the globe. He thanked them for their service and jokingly warned them not to eat too much turkey, then turned to the election after ending the call. He repeated grievances and angrily denounced officials in Georgia and Pennsylvania, two key swing states that helped give Biden the win.
Trump claimed, despite the results, that this may not be his last Thanksgiving at the White House. And he insisted that there had been “massive fraud,” even though state officials and international observers have said no such evidence exists and Trump’s campaign has repeatedly failed in court.