US President, Donald Trump has said he will leave the White House if the Electoral College certifies Joe Biden as the winner of the November 3rd presidential election, the closest the United States president has come to conceding the contest.
Taking questions for the first time since the election, the president was asked whether he will leave the White House if the Electoral College votes for president-elect Joe Biden.
He replied, “Certainly I will, certainly I will, and you know that.”
Donald Trump however admitted it is “going to be a very hard thing to concede”, adding, “I think that there will be a lot of things happening between now and the 20th of January. A lot of things.”
Mr Biden, who is due to be inaugurated on that date, won 306 Electoral College votes to Mr Trump’s 232 following the 3rd November election.
A candidate is required to gain 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.
Despite the popular vote being settled, the US system means the formal process of the college choosing a president will not happen until 14th December, when Electoral College voters, known as electors, are scheduled to meet. Electors mostly vote based on the outcome of the presidential race in their states.
Mr Trump made the comments at the White House after speaking to US troops during a traditional Thanksgiving Day address.
Despite his comments, the President continued to claim that the election was marred by “massive fraud”, and said the US was “like a third-world country”.
He added that officials in key states that he lost were “communists” and “enemies of the state”.
Analysts have however said the President is inching towards a concession.
Earlier this week, he said he had given Emily Murphy, head of the General Services Administration (GSA), the go-ahead to proceed with a transition for Mr Biden’s administration.
The GSA is responsible for many of the basic services that allow the US government to function, from buildings and transport management to IT, financial services, supply chains and human resources.
Mr Donald Trump, when quizzed declined to say whether he would attend Biden’s inauguration, scheduled for January 20, but said he intends to hold a rally in the US state of Georgia on December 5 in support of two Republican Senate candidates there.
The result of those election runoffs will decide which party gets a majority in the US Senate.
Trump pardons former National Security Adviser
President Donald Trump has pardoned his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI during the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
“It is my Great Honour to announce that General Michael T. Flynn has been granted a Full Pardon. Congratulations to @GenFlynn and his wonderful family, I know you will now have a truly fantastic Thanksgiving!,” Trump said on Twitter.
Trump’s pardon is likely the first of many during his final days in the White House. Recent departing presidents each announced a number of pardons, some of which have been extremely controversial.
