Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump and a senior adviser to his camp, has spoken to the president about the possibility of conceding defeat in the recent US presidential election, CNN reports on this and refers to two sources.
So far, there is no indication that Trump is ready to admit defeat, which came to light yesterday after Joe Biden won the key state of Pennsylvania, securing the number of voters needed to stand as a winner in the election.
In a statement issued shortly after the victory, the president said Biden had “driven himself to falsely claim to be the winner of the election.” He also said the election was “far from over.”
“I will not rest until the American people have received the vote they deserve and democracy demands,” the statement said. It also states that the struggle of the president’s candidacy in the courtrooms, which will depend on the intention to keep him in office, will begin tomorrow, Monday. Neither Trump nor anyone on his side has provided evidence of loud and repeated allegations of electoral fraud, fraud, or anything else questionable in connection with the conduct of the election.
A tradition that has no legal effect
It has been a tradition for the presidential candidate to bow to the winner when the results are clear, admit defeat and congratulate the opponent on the victory. Trump has not done that. However, the fact that he does not admit defeat does not affect the outcome of the election in any way, nor the change of government that will take place on 20 January next.
CNN reporter Ryan Nobles reports that little has been heard from the White House in connection with the case, apart from the fact that Kushner, one of the most trusted advisers to Trump, has discussed the matter with the president and will possibly hold continue to try to get the president to consider the possibility of acknowledging defeat.
Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s running mate, said there had been no contact between President Trump’s camp and Biden’s newly elected president after the results were announced.
In the run-up to the election, Trump actually refused to say whether he would accept the election results if he disliked them. In July this year, the president was asked if he would admit defeat but said he did not want to confirm anything like that.
“I have to see it. I’m not just going to say yes. I’m not going to say no either, I did not do that last time either,” Trump said at the time, referring to the fact that he had not issued any statements to that effect before the 2016 election he won.
