Trump ‘refuses to attend Biden’s inauguration’ in protest at ‘stolen election’
Donald Trump will not attend Joe Biden’s inauguration, it has been reported (Picture: Getty Images)
Donald Trump will never accept he lost the election and could fail to attend Joe Biden’s inauguration in protest, it has been reported. Biden was officially named as the US President-elect on Saturday, after more than four days of counting votes. Kamala Harris has now also become the country’s first female, first black and first Asian Vice President. Trump has continued to deny his defeat in the election, claiming on Saturday that he won ‘71,000,000 legal votes, the most EVER for a sitting President’. He reportedly learned of his defeat while golfing and has since spent hours holed up in the White House. Sources close to the White House now say he won’t attend Biden’s inauguration as he believes it will be an ‘insult to democracy’. A source told the Daily Mail: ‘He has no concession speech ready and no intention of recognising Joe Biden’s presidency.’
Insiders stated that the atmosphere inside the West Wing had been ‘manic, exuberant, energised and toxic’ since Biden was announced as the election winner. A source claimed Trump’s defiance was being ‘egged on’ by his children and aides, while others around him have been too fearful to suggest he accepts defeat and begins to ‘consider life post-presidency’. Joe Biden was announced as President-elect on Saturday (Picture: AP) Trump has refused to acknowledge his defeat (Picture: Reuters) They went on: ‘In his mind, he never looked past election day because he is superstitious and he thought it was bad luck. Now he’s hell-bent on creating a narrative that the election was fraudulent and so Biden is not legitimate.’
Another source added: ‘He is in fighting mode and is saying Biden would be a phoney President and that he won’t turn up on January 20 [inauguration day] as that would be an insult to democracy.’ Outgoing presidents traditionally welcome their successor to the White House and formally hand over the residence after posing for photos with them in the Oval Office. They then attend the swearing-in ceremony at the US Capitol building in Washington DC. But Trump is refusing to move into the next steps, and his campaign team has launched legal action in key battleground states, including Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania, in an attempt to overturn Biden’s win.
Americans have been celebrating their new president in New York (Picture: Getty Images)
He has since launched an ‘official election defence fund’, with his campaign team desperately asking Republican supporters to donate money for the upcoming legal battles. An email sent around claimed that ‘the radical left’ were ‘trying to steal the election from the American people’ and asked voters to contribute to help Trump ‘fight back’. It is unlikely the lawsuits will change the election result, but could help Trump muddy the waters as to whether Biden has a legitimate claim on the presidency. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
US election 2020 Follow our US election live blog for the latest news and updates on the 2020 election. People dancing in the streets across US as Joe Bidens wins election Joe Biden says he’ll be ‘President for all Americans’ after winning election Biden, 77, becomes oldest person ever to be elected as US President
US election 2020 Follow our US election live blog for the latest news and updates on the 2020 election. People dancing in the streets across US as Joe Bidens wins election Joe Biden says he’ll be ‘President for all Americans’ after winning election Biden, 77, becomes oldest person ever to be elected as US President
Source:metro.co.uk/