After a nail-biting election day that extended by nearly a week, Democrat Joe Biden finally won the mantle of the 46th president of the United States of America on Saturday, 8 November.
But the Donald Trump campaign has not conceded defeat yet and continues to pursue long-shot legal challenges, leaving the Republicans divided.
Meanwhile, Democrats have already started planning for a Biden administration.
Biden Launches Transition Website
US President-elect Joe Biden and his team have launched an official transition website laying the groundwork for taking over as US president.
On the website, buildbackbetter.com, the Biden team has outlined a “seven-point plan to beat COVID-19,” and said: “We aren't just going to rebuild what has worked in the past. This is our opportunity to build back better than ever,” reported Sky News.
Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be tackling four main agendas on Day 1 – COVID-19, economic recovery, racial equity and climate change, reported The New York Times.
“A Biden-Harris administration, propelled by the foundation laid by the transition, will lead a just and equitable recovery that rebuilds a strong, inclusive middle class and builds an economy for the future,” they said on the website.
Republicans Split Over US Election Result
Republicans are split over President-elect Joe Biden’s win as President Donald Trump refuses to concede defeat and continues to make allegations of voter fraud.
While some Republicans congratulated Biden on his win, others supported Trump’s narrative, backing legal challenges. The narrative has been strongly supported by Rudolph W Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer.
Former US President George W Bush congratulated Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Sunday and appealed to the Americans to unite.
In a statement, Bush stated: “Though we have political differences, I know Joe Biden to be a good man, who has won his opportunity to lead and unify our country,” CBS reported.
Senator Mitt Romney also congratulated Biden and Harris.
Trump’s Voter Fraud Allegations
President Trump and his campaign continue to raise claims of fraud and irregularities in the election.
They have filed several lawsuits to challenge the results in a few battleground states. Trump has claimed that that mail-in ballots could open the election up to fraud, The New York Times reported.
The Trump campaign has sent out several tweets and emails asking its supporters for money to fund the legal fight.
“We need YOU to step up,” one email demanded,” one email read, the NYT report added.
Micro-blogging site Twitter flagged several of Trump’s tweets as factually disputed as he continued to push the “fraud” narrative. One of Trump's tweet cited Newt Gingrich, a Trump ally who was the former Republican speaker of the House, as saying of Democrats, “These people are thieves,” NYT reported.
(With inputs from CBS, NYT, The Hill)
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