Donald Trump refuses to concede defeat as recriminations begin

  • Biden declared winner but president says: ‘This is far from over’
  • Legal challenges threatened but experts doubt they will succeed
  • Joe Biden wins – live updates

Donald Trump refused to formally concede the US election on Saturday, even as senior Republicans began to distance themselves from him, and as recriminations were reported among aides to a man doomed to go down as an impeached, one-term president.

Before the race was called, Trump continued to tweet his defiance and to attract censure for making baseless claims about voter fraud and his supposed victory. He also went to his course in Virginia to play golf. While he played, a defiant statement was issued in his name.

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The moment Fox News projected Joe Biden will win 2020 presidential election – video

Fox News announced Joe Biden would surpass the 270 electoral college votes needed to become president after calling the states of Nevada and Pennsylvania for the Democratic candidate. 


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CNN’s Van Jones brought to tears as Joe Biden wins US election – video

Political commentator Van Jones cried as CNN called the US election for Joe Biden. Jones said: 'It's easier to be a parent this morning ... to tell your kids character matters'.

Joe Biden won the presidency by clinching Pennsylvania and its 20 electoral votes. With Biden’s victory, Kamala Harris becomes the first woman and the first person of color to become the vice-president

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What will President Biden’s United States look like to the rest of the world? | Timothy Garton Ash

The future of a diminished superpower now lies in being part of a wider network of democracies

What is the best the world can now hope for from the United States under President Joe Biden, now that the election has been called for him? My answer: that the US will be a leading country in a post-hegemonic network of democracies.

Yes, that’s a, not the leading country. Quite a contrast to the beginning of this century, when the “hyperpower” US seemed to bestride the globe like a colossus. The downsizing has two causes: the US’s decline, and others’ rise. Even if Biden had won a landslide victory and the Democrats controlled the Senate, the United States’ power in the world would be much diminished. President Donald Trump has done untold damage to its international reputation. His disastrous record on handling Covid confirmed a widespread sense of a society with deep structural problems, from healthcare, race and infrastructure to media-fuelled hyper-polarisation and a dysfunctional political system.

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Biden styled himself as the antithesis to bare-knuckled Trumpism – and won

The veteran Democrat ran a slow and steady campaign in stark contrast to the sitting president

Joe Biden had characterized his campaign for the White House as a “battle for the soul of the nation” against Donald Trump, a president he said threatened the very foundation of American democracy.

Related: Joe Biden beats Donald Trump to win 2020 US election – live updates

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‘Democracy works’: Biden addresses nation as vote count shows him on brink of victory – live

A campaign aide has also tested positive, Bloomberg reports. CNN and NBC have also confirmed the Meadows has contracted Covid-19.

Worth noting that Mark Meadows was at the election night party at the White House Tuesday that hundreds of people attended. Officials said everyone would be tested beforehand.

Mark Meadows has tested positive for coronavirus, according to reporters from Bloomberg news.

BREAKING: Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has the coronavirus. Meadows informed a close circle of advisers after the election.

Story by me, @tylerpager and @MarioDParker out soon.

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Senator Lindsey Graham backs Trump, echoing baseless claims of election fraud – video

Republican senator Lindsey Graham has defended the Trump campaign's baseless claim of irregularities during the election, saying the president's team deserves the opportunity to make the case. "Democracy depends upon fair elections. President Trump's team is going to have a chance to make a case regarding voting irregularities," he said. "I'm going to stand with President Trump." Graham's comments come as presidential candidate Joe Biden took a lead over Trump in battleground Pennsylvania and Georgia, as ballots continue to be counted

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Philadelphia mayor tells Trump to accept he lost – video

Jim Kenney tells a press conference that Donald Trump should 'put his big boy pants on', acknowledge his defeat and congratulate Joe Biden as the winner of the US presidential election. It could take several days to complete the count in Philadelphia, but Biden has so far won 81% of the votes. Around 40,000 are still to be counted. Trump has continued to tweet baseless allegations of voter fraud

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Trump, McCain, Bush and Carter: different reactions to bad election results – video

Speeches from candidates conceding defeat in past US elections have been resurfacing after Donald Trump’s latest address as the 2020 result looms. Speaking from the White House on Thursday, Trump falsely referred to legally cast mail-in ballots as illegitimate, and made unsubstantiated claims that pollsters got results ‘knowingly wrong’ and that the election was being stolen

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‘What a spectacle!’: US adversaries revel in post-election chaos

From Iran to Venezuela to Russia, once-chided national leaders enjoy the sight of US democracy in action

Rivals and enemies of the US have come together to revel in the messiest US election in a generation, mocking the delay in vote processing and Donald Trump’s claims of electoral fraud in barely veiled criticisms of Washington’s political activism abroad.

“What a spectacle!” crowed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “One says this is the most fraudulent election in US history. Who says that? The president who is currently in office.”

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Steve Bannon banned by Twitter for calling for Fauci beheading

Former Trump adviser falls foul of Twitter rules with ‘heads on pikes’ comments

Twitter has banned the account of the former Donald Trump adviser and surrogate Steve Bannon after he called for the beheading of Dr Anthony Fauci and the FBI director, Christopher Wray, and the posting of their heads outside the White House as a “warning”.

Speaking on his podcast, the War Room, which was distributed in video form on a number of social media outlets, the far-right provocateur appeared to endorse violence against Wray and the US’s most senior infectious diseases expert.

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Trump repeats baseless election fraud claims as Biden calls for calm – video report

Donald Trump has claimed, without evidence, 'If you count the legal votes, I easily win', declaring victory again in a presidential election where votes are still being counted. Trump's comments come after rival Joe Biden urged Americans to stay calm as the result remains unconfirmed. In remarks made at the White House, Trump falsely referred to legally-cast mail-in ballots as illegitimate, and made unsubstantiated claims pollsters got results 'knowingly wrong' and the election is being stolen


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US election 2020: will Donald Trump accept the result?

Joe Biden was still leading Donald Trump in the tense race to the critical 270 electoral votes as counting continued in key states. Jonathan Freedland describes an election that has provided one clear message: the US remains divided

Joe Biden is tantalisingly close to securing the presidency, as votes continue to be counted in key states after an election with a record turnout and record numbers of postal votes. Donald Trump, watching his grip on the presidency being eroded, has threatened legal action, recounts, and even a halt to all ballot counting.

The Guardian’s Jonathan Freedland tells Rachel Humphreys that the president set the tone for a disputed election result with an extraordinary statement in the White House on election night, and has continued to question the legitimacy of the process.

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Trump may have broken his own record for most dangerous lies in one speech | David Smith

In 16 minutes, the liar-in-chief offered a downright dishonest take on the election that risked inciting violence

It seemed like a desperate last stand from a fearful strongman who can feel power slipping inexorably away.

The US president on Thursday returned to the White House briefing room, scene of past triumphs such as that time he proposed bleach as a cure for coronavirus and that other time he condemned QAnon with the words “They like me”.

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MSNBC cuts away from Trump’s address after he again falsely declares election victory – video

MSNBC anchor Brian Williams stopped broadcasting Donald Trump's remarks after the US president falsely claimed 'If you count the legal votes, I easily win'. The anchor's interruption came less than a minute into Trump's news conference, with Williams saying, 'Here we are again in the unusual position of not only interrupting the president of the United States but correcting the president of the United States'

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US election 2020: Joe Biden holds lead over Donald Trump in tense wait for results – live

The Guardian’s Nina Lakhani reports from Northampton county:

Allegany county, home to Pennsylvania’s second biggest city of Pittsburgh, has paused all counting until tomorrow morning due to a legal challenge over 29,000 ballots.

We are also getting some more numbers from Nevada’s rural counties, and Joe Biden’s lead has shrunk slightly to about 11,500 votes.

Lyon, too, not moving dial much.

Shows you disproportionate impact of Clark.

Lyon and Elko are two of larger rural counties.

Biden by 11.5K

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‘Every vote counts’: peaceful protests spread as election goes down to wire – video

'Count the vote' demonstrators gathered in cities across the US after Donald Trump falsely claimed victory in the presidential election and sued to halt vote-counting in crucial battleground states. Demonstrations took place from Philadelphia to Los Angeles, with some ending in clashes with police. Meanwhile, Trump supporters attempted to halt ballot-counting in Michigan as Joe Biden looked set to overtake Trump in the state vote

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Protesters gather outside election centre in Phoenix as Biden’s Arizona ‘win’ challenged – video

Supporters of Donald Trump gathered outside the Maricopa County Elections Department, chanting 'count the votes' after Joe Biden was named victor in the state by a number of news organisations. Media, including Fox News and the Associated Press, called the state in Biden's favour, but Trump has been narrowing the gap. Maricopa county, Arizona's most populous and a conservative stronghold, has been the focus of attention as the overall election results remains in the balance

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Election fight: a divided US takes to the streets as the count goes on – in pictures

Protesters turned out in cities across the US for the second night while votes are still being counted for the 2020 presidential election

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