Donald Trump’s refusal to accept election results an ‘embarrassment’, says president-elect Joe Biden

Joe Biden says Donald Trump’s refusal to accept the election results will harm his legacy.

US president-elect Joe Biden has said Republicans who have sided with Donald Trump over his claims of fraud had been ‘mildly intimidated’ by him. Picture: Getty Images/AFP

Joe Biden has described Donald Trump’s refusal to accept the results of the US election as an ‘embarrassment’ and says it will harm the president’s legacy.

His comments came as he enjoyed what appeared to be a huge victory when the US Supreme Court indicated in oral arguments that it was unlikely to strike down Obamacare.

The Trump administration’s efforts to get the court to strike down the Affordable Care Act had been a major issue during the election campaign.

But in oral arguments, it appeared that five of the court’s nine judges did not agree with the argument that the legal challenge justified the wholesale removal of the act.

Meanwhile Secretary of State Mike Pompeo joined the ranks of Republicans backing the president’s ongoing claim that he won the election.

When asked about the transition process, Mr Pompeo said there would “be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration” in the coming months.

Mr Trump continued to press his claim that fraudulent vote counting had stolen the election from him.

“WATCH FOR MASSIVE BALLOT COUNTING ABUSE,’ he tweeted. “WE WILL WIN,’ he said in another tweet.

Of the president’s refusal to accept the election results, Mr Biden said, “I just think it’s an embarrassment, quite frankly … It will not help the president’s legacy.’

“I think at the end of the day, it’s all going to come to fruition on January 20, and between now and then, my hope and expectation is that the American people do know and do understand that there has been a transition,’ he said.

The president-elect said that nothing Mr Trump did would prevent the orderly transition of power.

Mr Biden said those Republicans who have sided with the president over his claims of fraud had been ‘mildly intimidated’ by him.

“The Republican Party has been put in a position, with a few notable exceptions, of being mildly intimidated by the sitting president,” he said.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris addressing the Trump Administration’s lawsuit on Tuesday in Wilmington, Delaware. Picture: Getty Images/AFP

“I understand the sense of loss (among Trump supporters), but I think the majority of those who voted for the president, I think they understand that we have to come together,” he said.

The Trump team continues to bring cases to the courts to try to prove their claim that Mr Biden won the election through fraudulent means.

The Supreme Court was considering the question of whether the ACA as a whole was unconstitutional in light of changes made to the so-called individual mandate by Congress in 2017.

But a majority of justices appeared to suggest the ACA could remain intact, even if the mandate, which had previously penalised people for filing to take out insurance until it was zeroed out, was cut away.

“It does seem fairly clear that the proper remedy would be to sever the mandate provision and leave the rest of the act in place — the provisions regarding pre-existing conditions and the rest,” said conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Chief Justice John Roberts also said “Congress left the rest of the law intact when it lowered the penalty to zero,” he said.

The court’s three liberal judges are expected to also oppose any move to strike down the ACA in its entirety. A final decision is expected next year.

Mr Biden described the Trump Administration’s legal case to strike down the ACA as ‘cruel.’

“This case represents the latest attempt by the far-right ideologues to do what they have repeatedly failed to do for a long time,” Mr Biden said.

“The goal of the outgoing administration is clear” — that “the entire ACA thus must fall.”

“Now, in the middle of a deadly pandemic that has affected more than 10 million Americans … these ideologues are once again trying to strip health coverage away from the American people,’ he said.

“This effort to bypass the will of the American people, the verdict of courts in the past, the judgments of Congress, in my view, is simply cruel and needlessly divisive.”

Today, the Trump Administration is in court, attempting to eliminate the Affordable Care Act. Tune in as I discuss how my administration will expand access to quality, affordable health care. https://t.co/JB5uwBTKnd

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 10, 2020