President Donald Trump looks on after delivering an update on “Operation Warp Speed” in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC on November 13, 2020.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
President Donald Trump has admitted publicly for the first time that President-elect Joe Biden won the election, more than seven days after media outlets including NBC News called the race for Biden.
The seeming acknowledgement of defeat came on Twitter, in response to a post by the Fox News show “Watters’ World” that suggested that Biden “didn’t earn” the presidency.
“He won because the Election was Rigged,” Trump wrote, repeating an allegation that has been debunked by election officials around the country and his own Department of Homeland Security.
Trump’s apparent admission of Biden’s victory comes even as the president continues to falsely claim the election was rigged.
Thousands of his supporters gathered in Washington, D.C. yesterday to protest the results. At least 20 people were arrested after pro-Trump groups clashed with counterprotesters.
A White House official, when asked if Trump was admitting defeat, told NBC News: “It looks like it.” The official added that it may be the beginning of Trump conceding the presidential race.
The Biden transition team did not immediately provide a comment.
To date, more than 97% of the expected votes in the 2020 race have been tabulated. NBC News is projecting that Biden will 306 electoral votes, compared to Trump’s 232.
It takes 270 electoral votes to win. Biden also leads Trump in the popular vote by a margin of more than 5 million votes.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
