On Thursday, President Donald Trump inched closer to acknowledging the results of the 2020 presidential election and vowed to peacefully transfer power to Democrat Joe Biden, The Daily Mail reported.
Speaking to a group of reporters at the White House, Trump said that it will be “very hard” to concede due to widespread electoral fraud.
“It’s going to be a very hard thing to concede because we know there was massive fraud,” the commander-in-chief said.
When asked by reporters if he will leave office peacefully, Trump answered affirmatively.
“Certainly I will. And you know that.”
Nonetheless, Trump repeatedly asserted that Biden — who won 80 million votes — beat him because the contest was “rigged” and discussed his legal team’s attempts to overturn the results in key battleground states.
“Time isn’t on our side,” he admitted.
Trump refused to commit to attending Biden’s inauguration, which will take place on January 20, but said that he has already made up his mind.
“I don’t want to say that yet. I mean I know the answer, I’ll be honest, I know the answer, but I just don’t want to say it yet,” he said.
The president added that it would be a “mistake” for the Electoral College to confirm Biden’s victory and pivoted back to bashing the U.S. election system.
He said that America is “like a third world country” because it uses voting machines, arguing that the software is vulnerable to hacking and manipulation.
When asked to provide evidence for his claims, Trump said that those interested in the alleged irregularities should just look “anywhere on the internet” and see for themselves how easy it is to manipulate votes.
“I thought I was going to win it, and essentially I did win it. It’s very very close, it’s very very close,” he said.
Trump criticized Biden for moving forward with the transition, saying that it is “not right” that the Democrat has begun selecting Cabinet members.
Trump refused to discuss the possibility of running again in four years, even though some of his aides and advisers have reportedly floated the idea.
“I don’t want to talk to 2024 yet,” he stated.
Several individuals close to the president have anonymously told the press that he could announce a 2024 bid by the end of the year, or even sooner. According to others, Trump wants to use his power and influence to shape the future of the Republican Party and “seek vengeance” against Fox News.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration formally approved the transition process, allowing the incoming Biden administration to access vital government resources, per NBC News .
