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Election 2020: Scott Morrison calls Joe Biden after Donald Trump makes first public appearance

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has spoken to US President-elect Joe Biden in a phone call after Donald Trump appeared in public since the election loss.

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison has spoken to US President-elect Joe Biden in a phone call where he personally congratulated him on his election win.

Mr Morrison tweeted a photograph of himself during the moment he spot with Mr Biden.

He revealed he spoke to him mid-morning on Thursday, having reached out to his people through diplomatic channels over the weekend.

Mr Morrison also came with an invitation to come to Australia on the table.

“I’ve just spoken to President-elect Joe Biden to congratulate him on his election. There are no greater friends and no greater allies than Australia and the US,” he said.

“I look forward to strengthening even further our deep and enduring alliance, and to working with him closely as we face the world’s many challenges together.

“We look forward to celebrating the 70th anniversary of ANZUS next year.”

The leaders of France, Germany, Canada, Ireland, Turkey and Saudi Arabia are among those to have spoken with Mr Biden since last week’s election.

Mr Morrison has extended an invitation to Mr Biden to visit Australia next year for the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Australia and the US in 2021.

Mr Morrison praised the US’s democracy, while Mr Trump continues to contest the outcome of the election, and talked about global threats and the strength of the alliance.

“There is no question about the robustness of the US democracy, something that none of us ever lose faith in,” Mr Morrison said to Mr Biden.

“You have a deep understanding through long service of the challenges and threats that have been there for a long time, but they are more acute now, I’d argue, than for some period.”

Mr Morrison said it was a “very, very warm call”.

He said “there was no more critical time” for the US-Australia alliance and “the working together especially of like-minded countries... working together to promote peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and more broadly”.

Global challenges including COVID-19 and the recession.

“The President-elect was very interested in Australia’s successes and how we managed the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mr Morrison said.

The environment and “emissions reducing technologies” were also discussed, he said.

It comes as President Donald Trump continues to concede defeat. Mr Morrison and Mr Trump had a close working relationship.

He was the first Australian Prime Minister invited to the White House for a State dinner since John Howard in the Bush administration in 2006.

TRUMP’S FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE AFTER ELECTION

Mr Trump made his first official post-election appearance on Wednesday (local time) for what should be a moment of national unity to mark Veteran’s Day, now marred by his refusal to acknowledge Mr Biden’s win.

It comes as the state of Georgia would undertake a full hand recount. Mr Biden leads Mr Trump in the battleground state by more than 14,000 votes.

Mr Trump and Mr Biden attended separate Veterans Day events Wednesday in a stark illustration of the chasm between the incoming and outgoing administrations.

US President Donald Trump made his first public appearance since losing the election to Joe Biden during a visit to Arlington National Cemetery. Picture: AFP
US President Donald Trump made his first public appearance since losing the election to Joe Biden during a visit to Arlington National Cemetery. Picture: AFP

Mr Trump attended a wreath-laying ceremony in rainy weather at Arlington National Cemetery across the Potomac River from Washington.

He made no public remarks. In a written statement released earlier in the day he said: “We enjoy the privileges of peace, prosperity, and freedom because of our veterans, and we are forever indebted to them beyond measure.”

Mr Biden attended an event at a Korean War memorial in Philadelphia. He also released a statement in which he also noted the debt owed to the armed forces, and said the nation’s “one truly sacred obligation” was “to prepare and equip our troops we send into harm’s way, and to care for them and their families when they return home.”

US President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill paid their respects to America’s military veterans. Picture: AFP
US President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill paid their respects to America’s military veterans. Picture: AFP

Mr Trump has refused to concede defeat in the November 3 election won by Mr Biden, and is also refusing to co-operate in the transition to a new administration in January.

The president’s visit Arlington National Cemetery comes four days after US media projected his Democratic rival would take the White House.

Since then he has not addressed the nation other than via Twitter, and has not conceded to Mr Biden, as is traditional once a winner is projected in a US vote.

Donald Trump cut a forlorn figure and did not make any public remarks during the service. Picture: AFP
Donald Trump cut a forlorn figure and did not make any public remarks during the service. Picture: AFP

And with COVID-19 cases shattering records across the country and states imposing new restrictions in a push to contain the virus before winter arrives, Mr Trump seems to have all but shelved normal presidential duties.

Instead he has remained shut up inside the presidential mansion, pushing an alternate reality that he is about to win and filing lawsuits alleging voter fraud that so far have been backed up by only the flimsiest evidence.

US President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden place a memorial wreath during a Veterans Day stop at the Korean War Memorial Park in Philadelphia. Picture: AFP
US President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden place a memorial wreath during a Veterans Day stop at the Korean War Memorial Park in Philadelphia. Picture: AFP

Early on Wednesday (local time), he was tweeting fresh evidence-free claims of election wins and ballot tampering, despite the consensus from international observers, world leaders, local election officials and US media that the November 3 vote was free and fair, and that there have no credible allegations of fraud.

Claiming that a poll in Wisconsin on Election Day had resulted in “possibly illegal suppression” he said he was “now preparing to win the state,” which was called for Mr Biden one week ago.

“Many such ‘deplorable’ instances!” he added on Twitter.

Some Republicans were adding their voices to growing calls for the president to concede, with experts warning his refusal to do so was undermining the democratic process and holding up the transition to Mr Biden, who takes office in January.

Among them was Republican secretary of state for Montana, Corey Stapleton, who heralded the “incredible things” Mr Trump accomplished in office.

“But that time is now over. Tip your hat, bite your lip, and congratulate @JoeBiden,” he tweeted.

US President Donald Trump attends a "National Day of Observance" wreath laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Picture: AFP
US President Donald Trump attends a "National Day of Observance" wreath laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Picture: AFP

REPUBLICANS WIN ALASKA

Meanwhile, Mr Trump’s Republican Party won another seat in the US Senate on Wednesday, with a victory in Alaska that puts it one vote away from a majority in the upper house of Congress.

Incumbent Dan Sullivan was easily re-elected with more than 57 per cent of the vote, according to projections.

His victory confirms the strong performance of the Republican Party in the congressional elections, which were held on November 3 at the same time as the presidential election won by Mr Biden.

The Republicans now have 50 seats, compared to 48 for the Democrats in the 100-seat Senate. Two seats are still to be filled in runoffs scheduled for January 5 in the southern state of Georgia.

US President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden remember American military members who have lost their lives. Picture: AFP
US President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden remember American military members who have lost their lives. Picture: AFP

The Democrats would have to win both seats to catch up with the Republicans and give Mr Biden more room to implement his policies. It would then be Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’s voice that would decide the tie in a 50-50 vote in her role as president of the Senate.

No law can be passed in the United States without the upper house, which also has the power to approve the president’s appointments: his secretaries, his ambassadors, and the judges, especially on the Supreme Court.

If the Senate remains Republican, Mr Biden, who sat in it for 36 years, would have to use his skills of bipartisanship and negotiation.

The President-elect said on Tuesday that he was confident that he would be able to work with a sufficient number of congressional politicians from the other side.

TRUMP CONTINUES TO DENY BIDEN WIN

It comes as America’s dual leadership realities continue to drag on for days, with Mr Trump saying early results to his legal challenges in several states won’t come until next week.

As Mr Biden took a series of congratulatory calls from world leaders he pledged to restore America’s relations with traditional allies.

The current chaos was damaging America’s international reputation, according to Mr Biden, who said he had been assuring allies of a return to “normal”.

He has so far spoken with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has also sent his congratulations.

“I’m letting them know that America is back,” Mr Biden said.

“We’re going to be back in the game.”

Joe Biden says he will be inaugurated on January 20. Picture: Getty
Joe Biden says he will be inaugurated on January 20. Picture: Getty

He also pledged that he would be on the inauguration stage on January 20, and warned Mr Trump’s reluctance to concede would hurt his legacy.

“Well, I just think it’s an embarrassment, quite frankly,” Mr Biden said at his first press conference since the election was called for him on Saturday.

“How can I say this tactfully? I think it will not help the president’s legacy.”

In the meantime he said he was pressing forward with his preparation for the top job despite Mr Trump’s refusal to concede and that Republicans who were still supporting Mr Trump were doing so out of fear.

“I think that the whole Republican Party has been put in a position – with a few notable exceptions – of being mildly intimidated by the sitting president,” Mr Biden said.

“I understand the sense of loss. I get that. But I think the majority of the people who voted for the president … I think they understand that we have to come together.”

Asked if he believed Republicans would support his presidency he said: “They will, they will.”

He also announced he and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would reveal some of their cabinet members by Thanksgiving at the end of the month.

“We’re already beginning the transition,” Mr Biden said.

“We are well underway.”

US Secretary of State and Trump loyalist Mike Pompeo. Picture: AFP
US Secretary of State and Trump loyalist Mike Pompeo. Picture: AFP

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a Trump loyalist who is fifth in line to the presidency, backed Mr Trump challenging the election results, saying he had every right to do so.

He also raised eyebrows when he refused to support Mr Biden’s election, saying instead there would be a “smooth transition to a second Trump administration”.

Americans appeared to be tiring of the waiting game, with around 80 per cent of the population and more than half of Republicans saying they believed Mr Biden had won fairly, according to a Reuters Ipsos poll released yesterday.

Mr Trump didn’t appear in public yesterday but continued to tweet that the election was rigged.

He also called on his supporters to join a “million MAGA” march planned for Saturday in Washington DC, for which there are already counter protests planned.

Far right and far left groups are planning to join the demonstration, which has DC officials on edge.

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Originally published as Election 2020: Scott Morrison calls Joe Biden after Donald Trump makes first public appearance

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Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/world/election-chaos-trumps-backers-ruled-by-fear/news-story/b0da91dbd49626b78e443d081c1cd6fd