US President Donald Trump repeated unsubstantiated assertions over the weekend that the presidential election was "rigged", even as he appeared to admit that his Democratic opponent Joe Biden had won the election.
In a Sunday morning tweet before leaving Washington for his golfclub in Virginia, Mr Trump tweeted: “He won because the Election was Rigged. NO VOTE WATCHERS OR OBSERVERS allowed, vote tabulated by a Radical Left privately owned company, Dominion, with a bad reputation & bum equipment,” he tweeted.
But he followed-up with a post shortly after, clarifying that he was not conceding: “He only won in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA. I concede NOTHING! We have a long way to go. This was a RIGGED ELECTION!”
His posts were censured by twitter.
Mr Trump, who has refused to accept Mr Biden’s victory in the election, appeared to be boosted by the arrival of thousands of supporters in Washington DC on Saturday for what was dubbed as the “Million Maga March”, a reference to Mr Trump’s “Make America Great Again” catchphrase.
Many supporters arrived by coach from across the country to take part in the demonstrations in Freedom Square a few blocks from the White House which remains heavily fortified behind fencing.
Among those who gathered were religious groups who sang hymns such as God is on our side, holding signs suggesting that the election had been “stolen” from the president.
Many of the supporters were not wearing facemasks, despite the rising number of coronavirus infections in the United States.
There were also far-right elements within the crowd, including the right-wing group Proud Boys. Alex Jones, the well-known conspiracy theorist and founder of Infowars who has been banned from several social media platforms, also attended, delivering a speech near the Supreme Court.
Mr Trump drove around the plaza waving to supporters on Saturday morning as he left the White House for his golf course. Later he tweeted: “Hundreds of thousands of people showing their support in D.C. They will not stand for a Rigged and Corrupt Election!
As darkness fell on Saturday evening, left-wing demonstrators clashed with Trump supporters in isolated incidents across the city. At one point, Trump supporters eating outside a city centre restaurant near the White House were targetted with fireworks thrown by counter-protesters. Tensions increased when a group of pro-Trump supporters laid a large “Trump Law and Order” sign over Black Lives Matter plaza in downtown DC.
At least 20 people were arrested, including four for firearm offences.
The president weighed-in on the violence taking place near the White House on Saturday night on twitter, labelling left-wing protestors as “antifa scum”, a reference to the loose coalition of far-left groups. He accused them of attacking “innocent #MAGA people. DC Police, get going – do your job and don’t hold back!!!”
Transition team
Mr Biden met with his transition team advisers yesterday after attending mass at his local church in Delaware.
In an interview yesterday, Mr Biden's incoming chief of staff Ron Klain urged the General Services Administration to allow the president-elect access to resources and information, following the refusal so far of the federal agency to recognise Mr Biden's victory.
“Donald Trump’s Twitter feed doesn’t make Joe Biden president or not president. The American people did that.What we really want to see this week…is the General Services Administration issue that ascertainment,” he said, calling for a smooth transition of power.
Michael Osterholm, a member of Mr Biden's new coronavirus advisory board, warned that America's coronavirus cases were "going to go way up" in the coming weeks.
“We are in a very dangerous period, the most dangerous public health period since 1918. And if we don’t basically take important steps like stop swapping air with our neighbours, our friends, our colleagues, we’re going to see these numbers grow substantially,” he said.
His comments came as the Washington Post reported that Mr Trump has not attended a coronavirus task force meeting in five months. More than 130 service personnel are believed to be infected with coronavirus or self-isolating the newspaper reported, following the president’s election campaign.
The United States recorded 184,000 Covid cases on Friday – a record daily number. The United States has reported more than 10 million coronavirus cases, while more than 244,000 people have died from the virus.
