U.S. President Donald Trump has said he’ll relinquish power if the Electoral College affirms Democrat Joe Biden’s win, but he signaled he may never formally concede defeat, and may skip the Democrat’s inauguration. Trump fielded questions from reporters Thursday for the first time since his election defeat, speaking at the White House after a Thanksgiving teleconference with members of the military.
He rehashed for about 25 minutes a series of allegations his legal team has so far made but provided little or no evidence for — and thus hasn’t raised in court appearances — while saying flatly that Biden couldn’t have received 80 million votes from the American people. The defiant and occasionally conspiratorial exchange in the White House’s diplomatic room included a brief acknowledgement of the reality facing him. When Trump was asked if he’d physically leave the building if the Electoral College affirms Biden’s victory, he replied, "Certainly I will, and you know that.”
He swiftly returned, though, to unloading a series of attacks and criticizing the election — including calling Georgia’s Republican secretary of state an "enemy of the people.” Trump said he’d soon stage a rally in Georgia, where voters return to the polls in early January for a pair of runoff Senate races that will determine control of the chamber.