Joe Biden: Former Vice President's Criticism of Trump's "Irresponsible" Denial of His Defeat
The president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden, condemned this Thursday the refusal of President Donald Trump to accept defeat in the presidential elections on November 3, considering that this has sent the world: "A horrible message about who we are as a country ".
The Democrat said that Trump has shown "incredible irresponsibility" in rejecting the results that gave him the victory since last November 7.
Trump has taken legal action, as he points out that there was electoral fraud, but so far his complaints have not proven to be founded. All but one of Trump's challenges have made no real progress.
He has also invited state legislators to the White House, which could signal a possible change in tactics.
Biden's margin of victory in the general vote is more than 5.9 million. The Electoral College victory that decides who becomes president is projected to be 306 votes in his favor, to 232 for Trump.
And this Thursday there was a new setback for the president in the state of Georgia, where a recount confirmed Biden's victory.
Each state must certify its result during the next few weeks. As the votes are certified, Trump's chances of overturning the result will continue to decline.
Trump would likely need to reverse the numbers in at least three states.
One possibility is that the president tries to get state legislatures (with a Republican majority) in key states to handle the choice of electoral college voters in his favor.
What does Biden say?
The president-elect spoke after an online meeting with governors, including Democrats and Republicans, about the coronavirus crisis.
When asked about Trump's refusal to acknowledge his victory, Biden said the president was sending "incredibly damaging messages ... to the rest of the world about how democracy works" and that he would be remembered "as one of the most irresponsible presidents in the history of the United States. "
"It's hard to understand how this man thinks," he said, adding, "It's just outrageous what he's doing."
Regarding the result of the elections, he stated that "the vast majority of the people believe that it is legitimate."
What could Trump's strategy be?
While Trump continues to push through legal challenges, so far they have been largely unsuccessful.
The American press says that the president can try to use Republican legislators in the states he needs (Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, for example) to favor him when appointing the Electoral College voters.
In the United States, the presidential elections are indirect elections in which the winner of the popular vote wins, but rather the one who obtains a majority in the Electoral College, a body formed by "electors" who designate each state in a number that depends on its population.
In all but two there is the rule that the winner of the popular vote gets all the voters.
But federal law says state legislators have the power to designate voters at their own discretion if the state "has not made a decision."
This would seem like a long shot as it is very difficult to prove, no evidence of voter fraud has been shown, and disenfranchising millions of voters would cause a national scandal.
Reuters quoted a source familiar with Trump's strategy as saying there is now a "more specific approach to engaging lawmakers."
But even one of the Michigan congressmen who will go to the White House, Mike Shirkey, said earlier this week that the idea of a legislature that appoints voters "is not going to happen."
What about the other legal challenges?
At a press conference, Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani put forward theories without showing evidence and allegations of electoral fraud.
Legal experts have suggested that the lawsuits are unlikely to alter the results. Several have already been rejected, although some judges have yet to rule.
Giuliani criticized press reports on his team's legal actions, saying that the media had displayed "irrational pathological hatred for the president."
President Trump has continued to use Twitter to express support for his lawsuits and has held just two public events since the election, a Veterans Day ceremony and an update on coronavirus vaccines.
On Thursday, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said the state audit of ballots had not altered Biden's victory in the state.
Previously, Republicans lost a lawsuit in that state to try to block the certification of the results, which should happen this Friday.
Biden's lead was below 0.5% and the recount was mandated under a new state audit law.
Several thousand uncounted votes were found, reducing Biden's lead, but they were the result of human error and not fraud, said voting system manager Gabriel Sterling.
In Floyd County, the elections manager was fired for the newly found ballots.
Giuliani said his team dropped its latest lawsuit in Michigan because it had achieved its goal of halting certification of the result in a key county, he said.
However, the vice chairman of the Wayne County canvassing board reported that an attempt by two Republican members to rescind their certification of the result was invalid and that the result was binding.
Biden won the county by a large margin, according to unofficial results, plus Michigan won by about 146,000 votes.
In Arizona on Thursday, a judge rejected a lawsuit filed last week by the state Republican Party seeking a new audit of ballots in Maricopa County, where Phoenix, the state capital and largest city, is located.
In Nevada, a lawsuit was filed against Trump, in addition to his campaign paying for a partial recount in Wisconsin, where election officials say this will likely end up favoring Biden.
