As Donald Trump faces a narrowing pathway to victory in the US election, trailing Joe Biden in key battleground states, he still shows no sign of conceding, and is instead doubling down on baseless claims about cheating and electoral fraud.
Trump has been criticised by key figures from both the Republican and Democrat parties, and overnight, Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney stepped into the fray, telling the president it’s time to “put his big boy pants on” and start preparing a concession speech.
As of Friday afternoon, local time, Biden was ahead by 13,478 ballots in the swing state of Pennsylvania. Its 20 electoral college votes would be enough to win him the presidency, and it is hoped that there will be a result over the weekend, although nothing is certain.
Addressing the media, Kenney criticised Trump for his “baseless claims of fraud for which his team has not produced one iota of evidence”, saying:
“I think what the President needs to do is, frankly, put his big boy pants on. He needs to acknowledge the fact that he lost and he needs to congratulate the winner, just as Jimmy Carter did, just as George H.W. Bush did, and frankly, just as Al Gore did.”
Although he is currently trailing, members of Trump’s inner circle have indicated that he has no plans to concede the election and will continue to challenge the result.
In a statement today, his campaign general counsel called projections that favour Joe Biden “false”, and said that the race is “far from final.”
The Biden campaign have acknowledged that Trump may well try and cling to power even if the numbers show that he has lost. Spokesman Andrew Bates told reporters today:
“As we said on July 19, the American people will decide this election. And the United States government is perfectly capable of escorting trespassers out of the White House.”
Currently, Biden is up in the key battleground states of Pennsylvania and Nevada. He also remains ahead in Georgia and Arizona. He is currently winning the popular vote by more than four million, and has 253 electoral votes of the 270 required to take the presidency.
