US Election results 2020 RECAP: Biden labels Trump an 'embarrassment' for refusing to concede

Former Defence Secretary William Cohen has said the Trump administration is acting like a dictatorship.

Were witnessing the decimation of the democratic institutions which the American people have come to expect will be non-political in terms of our national security, Cohen told CNN, referencing the Presidents refusal to acknowledge that he has lost the election.

When asked to react to Secretary of State Mike Pompeos refusal to do the same, he said: My reaction is the way they are conducting themselves is more akin to a dictatorship than a democracy.

And I think the State Department has been politicized just like the DOD has tried to be politicized, and what weve done to undermine the intelligence community and other agencies, he added. I think its consistent with what has been taking place for four years now.

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Donald Trump(Image: REUTERS)

The Cop26 Climate Summit will be given a boost now that Joe Biden is in office, an expert has said.

The event, which was due to take place in Glasgow this week before the pandemic cancelled it, will not take place in a years time.

It as seen as a crucial opportunity to set emissions targets and draw up a plan for how to tackle global heating.

The difference [between the US under Biden and under Trump] will be night and day, Todd Stern, climate envoy to Barack Obama, told The Guardian.

This is critical. Joe Biden understands [the climate crisis] and that it will be about how we collectively drive a transformation to a net zero economy.

The US will engage with China, the other big players, and the smaller players the countries that care deeply about climate change [because they are most affected by it] they all have a role to play.

Donald Trump spent much of his Presidency rolling back domestic environmental protections and also decided to drop out of the Paris Climate accord.

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Mary Trump, the Presidents niece and a psychologist, has given some insight into his mental state as he continues to accept that he has lost the election.

She told The Observer: Hes not going to concede, although who cares.

Whats worse is hes not going to engage in the normal activities that guarantee a peaceful transition.

Hell be having meltdowns upon meltdowns right now. He has never been in a situation like this before.

All hes got now is breaking stuff, and hes going to do that with a vengeance.

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Mary Trump

Japan is arranging phone talks between Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to be held at an appropriate time, the governments top spokesman said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a regular news conference, Katsunobu Kato also said nothing has been decided on phone talks when asked about a media report that the talks may happen as early as Thursday.

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Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has called on citizens to have a quiet New Year(Image: REUTERS)

The Democratic Party secured control of the U.S. House of Representatives but with a slimmer majority after winning at least 218 seats.

Democrats secured the majority after AP declared three winners late on Tuesday; incumbents Kim Schrier in Washington, Tom OHalleran in Arizona and Jimmy Gomez in California.

The 435-member chamber will now be controlled by the Democratic Party for another two years, but with a slimmer margin.

The Democrats went into Election Day with a 232-197 House advantage, along with one independent and five open seats. This will be only the second time since 1995 that they will control the chamber for four consecutive years.

However, the Democrats fell short of their goal of taking a Senate majority and lost seats in the House of Representatives, making Republicans well positioned to block major legislative initiatives of President-elect Joe Biden.

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The Democrats will keep hold of the House(Image: JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/REX)

Joe Biden will likely use executive orders to reverse Donald Trumps controversial actions on immigration.

Its expected the President-elect will move quickly to stop the border wall and restore protection for people brought to the U.S. illegally as minors as soon as he takes office.

However, despite Bidens detailed plan it will take time to undo four years of Trump policy.

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Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden appears oh stage with his wife Dr. Jill Biden after delivering his acceptance speech on the fourth night of the Democratic National Convention from the Chase Center on August 20, 2020(Image: Getty Images)

The US passed a grim new milestone with a record number of hospitalisations as more than one million new cases were reported in the last 10 days.

61,964 new hospitalisations were recorded on Tuesday as the country battles a second wave.

Cases also continue to rise in 49 states with around 100,000 being reported every day.

In total, the US has reported more than 10.5million Covid cases and over 245,000 virus-related deaths.

It comes as President-elect Joe Biden this week gathered his coroanvirus taskforce as he prepares to take office in January.

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When Donald Trump married his third wife, Melania Knauss, he was already a successful businessman with a huge fortune.

After meeting at a party in 1998, the couple tied the knot in front of some of the most famous and influential people in the world.

But before they said I Do, Trump made the model sign a prenup - just as he did before his two previous trips up the aisle.

While Melania has come out to defend her husband after his election loss to Joe Biden, a former aide has previously claimed shes counting every minute until he is out of office and she can divorce.

But what happens if they split up - read the full story HERE.

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Nearly 80 per cent of Americans, including more than half of Republicans, recognisee President-elect Joe Biden as the winner of the US election after most media organisations called the race for the Democrat based on his leads in critical battleground states, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Biden - who needed 270 Electoral College votes to win - had 279 of those votes to 214 for Trump with results in three states not yet complete, according to Edison Research.

In the popular vote, Biden got 76.3 million, or 50.7% of the total, to 71.6 million, or 47.6%, for Trump.

The Reuters/Ipsos national opinion survey, which ran from Saturday afternoon to Tuesday, found that 79% of U.S. adults believe Biden won the White House.

Another 13% said the election has not yet been decided, 3% said Trump won and 5% said they do not know.

The results were somewhat split along party lines: about six in 10 Republicans and almost every Democrat said Biden won.

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Biden said on Tuesday that nothing would stop the transfer of power in the U.S. government, even as President Donald Trump says without evidence the election was marred by fraud and some of his Republican allies back probes.

Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has backed Trumps right to launch a legal challenge to Bidens victory in several battleground states such as Pennsylvania.

Some senior Republicans sought to sow doubt about the outcome.

Biden secured the more than 270 votes in the Electoral College he needs to take the presidency by winning Pennsylvania on Saturday after four tense days of counting, which was delayed by a surge in mail-in ballots due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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The Taoiseach has invited US president-elect Joe Biden to visit Ireland.

Micheal Martin said he held a warm and engaging call with Mr Biden, who spoke proudly of his Irish heritage.

Mr Martin also said that the president-elect underlined his commitment to the Good Friday Agreement during the call on Tuesday.

The call between the two men took place shortly after Mr Biden had spoken to the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Mr Martin congratulated Mr Biden and Kamala Harris on their remarkable election victory.

Mr Martin tweeted: Ive had a warm and engaging call with US President Elect @JoeBiden. He brings tremendous knowledge & understanding to his new role, and has a great love for his Irish heritage. He underlined his commitment to the Good Friday Agreement & we spoke of importance of multilateralism.

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Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin(Image: PA)

President Donald Trumps campaign filed its most sweeping post-election lawsuit on Monday night in federal court in Scranton, Pennsylvania, alleging that state election officials devised and executed an illegal two-tiered voting system that unconstitutionally favoured mail-in voters over those who voted in person.

Reuters report on the new complaint noted that the presidents cases challenging election results have so far not fared well, with judges in Michigan and Georgia dismissing suits and experts predicting that Trumps legal campaign has little chance of changing the election result.

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Boris Johnson has prompted confusion and mockery after it emerged his congratulations to Joe Biden had a reference... to Donald Trump.

Eagle-eyed Twitter users spotted the words Trump, the future and even second term appeared to be hidden very faintly in the image posted by the Prime Minister.

It has sparked speculation that Downing Street prepared a congratulation message to Trump - only to inexpertly rub it out and replace it with one to Biden.

It may be one reason why it took No10 longer than Keir Starmer to congratulate the US President-elect after TV networks projected he would win on Saturday.

The other reason is that No10 has been cautious not to whole-heartedly declare victory while votes are being counted - and while Trump pursues wild legal challenges.

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner tweeted: Looks like No 10 could do with a few more staff who have trained in cyber (they just didnt know it yet).

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Read more on this here

Democrat Cal Cunningham, who had been considered the leader for a U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina until his campaign was undermined by a sex scandal, on Tuesday conceded the closely fought contest to Republican incumbent Thom Tillis.

Edison Research also called the race for Tillis.

The result essentially confirms that control of the Senate -- and with it the power to support or block much of Democratic President-elect Joe Bidens agenda -- will be decided in a pair of January 5 runoff elections in Georgia.

Joe Bidens lead has widened in Arizona as he moves to 49.5% from 49.4%.

Trump holds at 49.0% with 98% of the estimated vote tallied, EdisonResearch announced.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has not acknowledged Joe Biden as president-elect, said on Tuesday he does not expect an interrupted transition from the administration of Republican President Donald Trump, who is challenging Bidens election victory in the courts.

I dont think were going to have an interrupted transition to whoever is the next administration, the Republican McConnell told reporters.

I think we ought to quit all the hand-wringing and not act like this is extraordinary. Were going to get through this period and well swear in the winner on January 20th, 2021, just like we have every four years since 1793.

McConnell also brushed off a question about whether he was indulging Trump by allowing the president to air charges of election fraud without offering evidence, saying he would let the presidential election go through the various stages that it goes through under the Constitution.

There will be, apparently, litigation. Those cases will be decided. And then the Electoral College will meet. And then well have the inauguration. But I am going to concentrate on what we are trying to do here in the remainder of this Congress, McConnell said.

Top Republicans in the U.S. Congress for now are supporting President Donald Trumps attempt to challenge President-elect Joe Bidens victory, but some senior aides said Trump must soon produce significant evidence or exit the stage.

A handful of Republican senators have said they recognize Biden as last weeks winner.

Many more have not but are suggesting limits to their patience in giving Trump the benefit of the doubt.

Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, a state that Trump won handily last week, said in a statement that Biden is leading in enough states to win election and President Donald Trumps campaign must produce evidence to support allegations of election fraud.

Portman added that he hoped states and courts would move expeditiously to resolve the matter.

Behind the scenes, some were more explicit.

[U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky]

House Republican Mitch McConnell is among the guests as Joe Biden attends church this morning(Image: REUTERS)

I think the goal here is to give the president and his campaign team some space to demonstrate there is real evidence to support any claims of voter fraud. If there is, then they will be litigated quickly. If not, well all move on, said one senior Senate Republican aide.

A second such aide, while noting that most Republican senators support Trumps right to refuse to concede, added that failing any surprise revelations, At some point this has to give. And I give it a week or two.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Congresss top Republican, delivered a stinging speech that sounded more like a continuation of 2020 campaign rhetoric than a post-election call for getting down to business.

While defending Trumps challenge of the election result, McConnell took time to chastise far-left mobs that engaged in summertime rioting following the death of George Floyd while in police custody.

McConnell also hinted at something far less than prolonged litigation, such as was seen in the 2000 contest between George W. Bush and Al Gore: Suffice to say a few legal inquiries from the president do not exactly spell the end of the Republic.

Meanwhile, Republican Senator Marco Rubio late on Monday refused to recognize Biden as the president-elect yet.

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Marco Rubio(Image: FameFlynet)

But responding to reporters questions about unsubstantiated fraud allegations in hotly contested states such as Pennsylvania, Rubio said he was in no position to know what was going on anywhere outside his home state of Florida.

Another matter was higher in some senators minds -- a pair of runoff elections in Georgia on Jan. 5 that will determine whether Republicans maintain control of the Senate next year or must turn it over to Democrats.

Asked about the battle Trump is waging against Biden, Republican Senator Mike Rounds said, No. 1, we have to focus on Georgia and how critical that is as a backstop right now for limiting the amount of major changes that a number of our Democratic colleagues have suggested.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday Republicans have no legal case in challenging the results of the presidential election that was called for Joe Biden over the weekend.

So many Republicans today seem to be backing the president on his lawsuit, Schumer told reporters.

This is not one state where theres a 597 vote difference. These are many states where there are tens of thousands of votes (difference), and the Republicans have no legal case.

They are politically distraught. But thats not going to create any, any success for them in the courts.

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Schumer hoped to summon records and documents from the State Department and the Office of Management and Budget related to Trump's dealings with Ukraine(Image: SIPA USA/PA Images)

Donald Trump will be leaving the White House after he was defeated by President-elect Joe Biden in the US election - and it should serve as a warning to Boris Johnson, writes Alastair Campbell

As the world breathes more easily, now that Joe Biden has won the US Presidency, I would like to lay out 20 traits in Donald Trump and 20 in Boris Johnson.

Some of Trumps may have helped him become President four years ago, in what history will surely see as an aberration. All of them, thankfully, have helped him on his way out of the White House.

Some of Johnsons helped him became Prime Minister of the UK - all of them are combining to expose his unfitness for that office.

Read Alastair Campbells full column for the Mirror

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Joe Bidens lead has widened in Georgia with Trump slipping to 49.2% from 49.3% and Biden holding at 49.5% with 99% of the estimated vote tallied, EdisonResearch announces.

US President Donald Trump will visit Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday, the White House said, in what would be the Presidents first public appearance since the presidential contest was called for his Democratic rival Joe Biden over the weekend.

Trump and first lady Melania Trump will visit the cemetery to mark Veterans Day, White House spokesman Judd Deere said.

Frances Emmanuel Macron spoke with President-elect Joe Biden this afternoon, the French Presidents office said.

Macron told Biden France was ready to work together on climate, health, and the fight aganst terorism.

Meanwhile Germanys Engela Merkel also spoke with Biden today, her spokesperson said.

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Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron(Image: Getty)

Merkely congratulated Biden and Harris on their election victory, and she told Biden she hopes for a close and trusting working relationship.

Merkel and Biden agreed a transatlantic partnership is very important given the many global challenges.

Boris Johnson has never met Biden and commentators have suggested he will have to work hard to foster the so-called special relationship between the historical allies.

After the call, Johnsons office said the prime minister had invited Biden to the United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, in Glasgow next year.

It said Johnson and Biden committed to build their countries partnership in areas such as trade and security - including through the NATO defence alliance.

There was no reference to any discussion of Brexit on the call.

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(Image: Andrew Parsons / No10 Downing Street)

Johnsons government is seeking a trade deal with the European Union but has said it is willing to walk away without one.

Johnson has put forward legislation that would break the Northern Ireland protocol of the Brexit divorce treaty that seeks to avoid a physical customs border between the British province and EU-member Ireland.

That prompted a warning from Biden, who has talked about the importance of his Irish heritage, that the United Kingdom must honour Northern Irelands 1998 peace agreement as it withdraws from the bloc or there can be no separate U.S. trade deal.