Donald Trump vows to run in 2024, blasts ‘rigged’ election in rant
President Donald Trump has vowed to continue to fight the US election result, this time in a lengthy video rant.
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Donald Trump has vowed to continue to fight the election results claiming he was stripped of victory by a “co-ordinated attack” in a 46 minute video rant.
The video posted to his social media is his most fulsome statement on why he is fighting Democrat Joe Biden’s apparent victory and was filled with claims of conspiracies, fraud and a “rigged election”.
Describing his “address” as possibly “the most important speech I’ve ever made”, Mr Trump spoke from behind a podium in the White House.
“This election was rigged. Everyone knows it,” Mr Trump said.
“I don’t mind if I lose an election, but I want to lose an election fair and square. What I don’t want to do is have it stolen from the American people.”
Holding up charts he said showed the conspiracy to oust him, Mr Trump said millions of votes cast his way had been discarded or disallowed.
“Many people in the media and even judges so far have refused to accept it,” he said.
“They know it’s true. They know it’s there. They know who won the election. But they refuse to say: you’re right. Our country needs somebody to say you’re right.”
Mr Trump, who has mainly laid low at the White House since the November 3 poll, urged the Supreme Court to overturn the result.
He admitted his complaints would likely be criticised.
“Even what I’m saying now will be demeaned and disparaged,” he said, repeating his attacks on the media who he says worked against him during the 2020 campaign and refuse to treat him fairly.
It came hours after Mr Trump announced he will hold his first post election rally this weekend in Georgia to boost Republican senators in a by election that will determine the balance of the Senate.
‘I’ll SEE YOU IN FOUR YEARS’
Speculation about the possibility of Trump running for the White House again in 2024 is alive and well in the United States.
Mr Trump hinted during a holiday reception at the White House of running for office again in 2024 – as he continues to allege widespread voter fraud in this year’s election.
“It’s been an amazing four years,” the president told the crowd, which included many Republican National Committee members. “We’re trying to do another four years. Otherwise, I’ll see you in four years.”
There has been some confusion about whether he can run for office for a third time. But the Constitution is clear: While a person can only serve two terms as President, they can run for office as many times as they like.
The New York Post reports that attendee Pam Pollard, national committeewoman for the Oklahoma GOP, streamed footage of Mr Trump’s remarks live on Facebook.
He is heard continuing to claim election fraud to explain his defeat by President-elect Joe Biden.
But his latest allegations came just hours after Attorney General William Barr said the Justice Department had not uncovered evidence of widespread voter fraud — and had seen nothing that would change the outcome of the election.
“It’s certainly an unusual year. We won an election. But they don’t like that,” Mr Trump told the group, adding: “I call it a rigged election, and I always will.”
The commander-in-chief told the attendees that “it’s been an amazing four years,” according to CNN.
He also asked if people were watching the “fraud hearings” with his legal team, led by attorney Rudy Giuliani, with state legislatures in an attempt to overturn the election.
“Honestly, this is a disgrace,” he said from the White House’s grand staircase, according to the network.
Mr Trump has yet to concede to Mr Biden, even though his administration has given the green light for the official presidential transition to begin.
Asked whether Mr Trump was seriously considering not attending Mr Biden’s inauguration ceremony next month, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said: “I’m not going to speculate on the President’s decision, I’ll leave that to him to announce it.”
‘NO EVIDENCE OF MAJOR VOTER FRAUD’, SAYS TRUMP’S TOP LAW MAN
Attorney General William Barr has admitted that the Justice Department has not uncovered evidence of widespread voter fraud that would alter the 2020 presidential election outcome.
The nation’s top law enforcement officer said that US attorneys and FBI agents have been looking into specific complaints and other information they have received, but have found nothing that would change the outcome of the election.
“To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have affected a different outcome in the election,” Mr Barr told AP.
Mr Barr’s statement is likely to enrage his boss, who continues to insist the election was “stolen” from him by fraudulent voting practices that assisted Joe Biden – who is now wearing a moon boot on the foot he injured playing with his dog Major.
The revelation comes weeks after Barr authorised federal prosecutors to investigate allegations of “voting irregularities” in the 2020 election.
At the time, President-elect Biden’s team slammed Barr over the move, calling the decision a “clumsy and cynical partisan political scheme.”
“It is deeply unfortunate that the Attorney General Barr chose to issue a memorandum that will only fuel the ‘specious, speculative, fanciful or far-fetched claims’ he professes to guard against,” said Bob Bauer, a senior Biden campaign attorney.
PARDON ME? GIULIANI MAY GET PARTING GIFT
A pre-emptive pardon for Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani before he leaves the White House next month has been discussed with his legal team, it has been reported in the US.
Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is Mr Trump’s personal lawyer, talked about the possible pardon for himself with the President last week.
The New York Times reported that it was not the first time the two men canvassed the idea of a pardon for Mr Giuliani.
It is not clear what level of criminal scrutiny Mr Giuliani could face. He was investigated by federal prosecutors in Manhattan for his business dealings in Ukraine and his role in ousting the American ambassador there.
A spokeswoman for the former mayor said any conversations between Mr Giuliani and Mr Trump were private.
“Mayor Giuliani cannot comment on any discussions that he has with his client.” spokesperson Christianne Allen said.
Mr Giuliani’s own lawyer, Robert Costello, said his client had nothing to worry about.
“He’s not concerned about this investigation, because he didn’t do anything wrong and that’s been our position from Day 1.”
The Times said there are precedents for a broad pre-emptive pardon.
In the most famous example, Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon for all of his actions as president in the wake of the Watergate scandal.
Mr Trump pardoned his former national security adviser Michael Flynn broadly for potential legal troubles beyond the charge he had faced of lying to federal investigators. The move brought speculation that Mr Trump could hand out more stay-out-of-jail free cards to other associates before he leaves the White House.
Mr Giuliani tweeted that the reports were incorrect.
OUTRAGE OVER BIDEN PICK
Outrage is building on the left over President-elect Joe Biden’s selection of longtime Hillary Clinton ally and avid tweeter Neera Tanden to run the Office of Management and Budget.
On the same day the President-elect showed off his moon boot after breaking bones in his foot while playing with his dog, it was revealed Ms Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress, will need Senate approval for the position, which could pose a problem for the Democrat even if her party were to gain the majority in the body.
If Democrats win both Senate runoffs in Georgia, they will have split the chamber 50-50, with any ties to be broken by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. This means Ms Tanden cannot afford to lose a single vote on the Democratic side — a risk given her fractious relationship with Senator Bernie Sanders.
Sen Sanders and Ms Tanden’s rocky relationship dates back to the 2016 Democratic presidential primary, when the Clinton ally was a senior voice in the former secretary of state’s campaign.
WikiLeaks emails from that time revealed that she referred to staffers at the progressive news website ThinkProgress as “crazy leftists.”
Tension between the two escalated in 2019, when Sen Sanders was seeking the 2020 Democratic nomination and Ms Tanden was running CAP.
Sen Sanders wrote a letter accusing the organisation, and Ms Tanden, of “maligning my staff and supporters and belittling progressive ideas” during the primary.
He also accused ThinkProgress, which is operated under the CAP Action Fund, of falsely claiming in a video that he had changed his rhetoric surrounding millionaires after becoming one himself.
At the time, Ms Tanden said ThinkProgress was “editorially independent.”
Shortly after, their relationship was strained further when the New York Times reported about an incident years earlier in which Ms Tanden punched Faiz Shakir, who ran Sanders’ 2020 presidential effort, “in the chest.”
The alleged incident took place in 2008, when she accompanied Clinton to what was supposed to be a softball interview with Shakir, then chief editor of ThinkProgress’ website.
Shakir asked Clinton about her support for the Iraq War, which had been a source of controversy in her candidacy at the time. Tanden, according to the Times, circled back to Shakir after the interview and punched him in the chest.
Tanden denied it was a punch when reached by the Times, but did acknowledge getting physical with him.
“I didn’t slug him, I pushed him,” Ms Tanden said in a tone described by the paper as “still angry.”
THE STATE THAT DASHED TRUMP’S HOPES
The state of Arizona has confirmed a victory for Joe Biden, all but ending Donald Trump’s already slim chances of being re-elected for a second term.
The key battleground state declared a majority for the former Vice President to Barack Obama as disgruntled President Trump continues to question the election results.
In a major change of colours, Arizona hasn’t turned blue since 1996.
Secretary of State Katie Hobbs – who signed the official election results – said: “This was a historic election for a several reasons.
“Preparing for any election is an immense undertaking, even in normal circumstances.
“The complexity this year has been compounded by the pandemic.
“In spite of this, we had an extremely well-run election and saw historically high voter participation.”
The victory of Joe Biden was confirmed by Arizona’s Republican Governor Doug Ducey, Republican Attorney-General Mark Brnovich and Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court Robert Brutinel.
A majority was also achieved by Mark Kelly, Arizona Democratic candidate for the Senate, election officials flagged.
Legal suits pushed through by the Trump campaign were rejected by courts in Arizona.
The Trump Team continued to deny the election result. But a legal suit from the Arizona Republican Party seeking to block certification in Maricopa County, the state’s highest populated county, was dropped.
“No matter how you voted, this election was administered with integrity, transparency, and most importantly in accordance with Arizona state laws.” said Republican chair of the board Clint Hickman.
The President tweeted: “@OANN WOW, total election corruption in Arizona. Hearing on now! Why isn’t @FoxNews covering the Arizona hearings?”
He also retweeted a live-stream from the Right Side Broadcasting Network which was captioned: “Watch Live: Arizona State Legislature Hearing on Election Fraud.”
The effort to defeat Biden comes after results from a recount in Wisconsin that cost President Donald Trump $3 million ($A4.2m) added a net gain of 87 votes for Joe Biden.
The results of the recount confirmed Mr Biden’s victory over Mr Trump in the battleground Badger State.
Mr Trump vowed to challenge the outcome in the courts even before the recount was put to bed.
Dane County was the second and last county to finish its recount, reporting a 45-vote gain for Mr Trump.
Milwaukee County – Wisconsin’s other large, left-leaning county targeted in a recount that Donald Trump paid $3 million ($A4.2m) for – reported a 132-vote gain for Joe Biden. Talk about being stiffed.
Meanwhile, President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris unveiled the members of their inauguration committee and a new website.
The presidential inaugural committee will be led by Tony Allen, president of Delaware State University and a longtime aide to Mr Biden. By Allen’s side will be Maju Varghese, who served as chief operating officer and senior adviser to the Biden campaign.
Erin Wilson, a Biden campaign aide, and Yvanna Cancela, a Nevada state senator, will also join the team as deputies.
In a statement following the announcement, Mr Allen said he had “known and loved the Biden family for 25 years” before explaining how he pictured an inauguration in a pandemic.
“This year’s inauguration will look different amid the pandemic, but we will honour the American inaugural traditions and engage Americans across the country while keeping everybody healthy and safe,” Mr Allen said.
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