Trump Administration Blocking Joe Biden From Seeing Congratulatory Notes That World Leaders Have Sent Him
A number of world leaders have sent congratulatory notes to the U.S. State Department for Joe Biden, but the president-elect has reportedly yet to see any of them.
As CNN reported, the White House is preventing the projected winner of the 2020 presidential race from accessing the “stack of messages” that foreign leaders have sent for him, breaking a tradition where the outgoing administration supports communications for the incoming president. Donald Trump has instead refused to accept the results of the election and has shown no sign that he will concede, continuing to insist that there was widespread fraud benefitting his opponent.
According to the news outlet, the lack of cooperation has left Biden and his transition team to figure out the logistics of setting up phone calls and other communication on their own.
“Biden’s team is contacting foreign governments on their own and he has held numerous calls with leaders, including Germany’s Angela Merkel and Canada’s Justin Trudeau. But they are operating without the logistical and translation support that the State Department operations center provides,” the report noted.
Foreign leaders, seeing that the White House is not offering them help in reaching Biden, have begun to contact diplomats who worked during Barack Obama’s presidency to help facilitate the calls with the president-elect, CNN added.
Some top Trump allies have been publicly dismissive of Biden and his apparent win as well, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo refusing to acknowledge his victory and telling reporters that he expects “a smooth transition to a second Trump administration.” CNN noted that the statement, which some interpreted as a joke, was met with hostility from some diplomats.
There have been other hitches for Biden due to the alleged lack of cooperation. As The Inquisitr reported, the White House has refused to sign a letter that would allow his transition team to begin accessing resources needed to prepare for when he is sworn in on January 20. The refusal reportedly comes from Emily Murphy, the administrator of the General Services Administration, who did not hand over a letter that would have allowed the work for the incoming president to begin.
Some have raised concern that this could set Biden back, doing so at a time when a new president would face immediate and significant challenges, including leading the nation’s response to the coronavirus. This comes at a time when daily positive cases have reached all-time highs and many areas have struggled with high hospitalization rates.
