Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

US election 2020: Trump ally urges him to accept defeat in US vote

US election 2020: Trump ally urges him to accept defeat in US vote

A prominent ally of Donald Trump has urged him to drop his efforts to overturn his loss to Joe Biden in the US presidential election.

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie called the president's legal team a "national embarrassment".

President Trump has refused to concede the election, making unsubstantiated claims of widespread electoral fraud.

Many Republicans have supported his legal efforts but a small but growing number have broken ranks.

On Saturday Mr Trump suffered a major blow in Pennsylvania, after a judge dismissed a lawsuit from the Trump campaign seeking to invalidate millions of mail-in votes in the battleground state.

In a scathing ruling, Judge Matthew Brann said his court had been presented with "strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusations".

The move paves the way for Pennsylvania to on Monday certify Mr Biden's win - the Democratic president-elect leads there by more than 80,000 votes.

Mr Biden is projected to defeat President Trump 306 to 232 in the US electoral college, which determines who becomes president - far above the 270 he needs to win.

What did Chris Christie say?


Speaking to ABC's This Week programme on Sunday, Mr Christie, a former New Jersey governor, said: "Quite frankly, the conduct of the president's legal team has been a national embarrassment".

He said the Trump camp was often discussing election fraud "outside the courtroom, but when they go inside the courtroom they don't plead fraud and they don't argue fraud".

"I have been a supporter of the president's. I voted for him twice. But elections have consequences, and we cannot continue to act as if something happened here that didn't happen."

Mr Christie was the first governor to endorse Mr Trump as a presidential candidate back in 2016. He also helped prepare the US president for his debates with Mr Biden earlier this year.

He singled out for criticism Sidney Powell, a lawyer who appeared with Trump's legal team during a press conference on Thursday who, without providing evidence, said that electronic voting systems switched millions of ballots to Biden, and that he also won thanks to "communist money".

But on Sunday the Trump campaign issued a statement distancing themselves from Ms Powell, saying she "is practicing law on her own" and was "not a member of the Trump legal team".

A tweet from President Trump earlier this month explicitly named her as part of the team.

On Sunday other Republicans also urged President Trump to concede.

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan told CNN on Sunday that the Trump camp's continued efforts to overturn the election results were "beginning to look like we're a banana republic".

In a post on Twitter, Gov Hogan said Mr Trump should "stop golfing and concede".

Michigan Representative Fred Upton told CNN the voters in his battleground state "spoke" by choosing Mr Biden, while North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer said in an interview to NBC it was "past time to start a transition", although he stopped short of accepting Mr Biden's victory.

What has the Biden camp been up to?


President Trump's refusal to concede has complicated the process that normally follows a US election.

Joe Biden is to announce his first cabinet appointments on Tuesday, said Ron Klain, the president-elect's choice as White House chief-of-staff.

Speaking to ABC on Sunday, Mr Klain called on the Trump administration to facilitate the transition.


Joe Biden (right) is ploughing on with the transition, despite Mr Trump's refusal to formally concede


"A record number of Americans rejected the Trump presidency, and since then Donald Trump's been rejecting democracy," he said.

And he revealed that the Biden campaign was preparing for a "scaled-down" inauguration on 20 January due to the worsening coronavirus outbreak.


How to move on after the US election



Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
China Accuses US of Violating Trade Truce
Panama Port Owner Balances US-China Pressures
France Implements Nationwide Outdoor Smoking Ban to Protect Children
German Chancellor Merz Keeps Putin Guessing on Missile Strategy
Mandelson Criticizes UK's 'Fetish' for Abandoning EU Regulations
British Fishing Boat Owner Fined €30,000 by French Authorities
Dutch government falls as far-right leader Wilders quits coalition
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
×