For the first time, Trump says Biden won, but...
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump yesterday appeared to acknowledge publicly for the first time that Democrat Joe Biden won the Nov 3 US presidential election but asserted that it was "rigged", reiterating his false claims of widespread voting fraud.
Mr Biden won 306 votes in the Electoral College system that determines the presidential winner, according to Edison Research, far more than the 270 needed for a majority.
Mr Trump seemed to acknowledge the victory in a Twitter post in which he listed unsubstantiated allegations of fraud.
"He won because the Election was Rigged," Mr Trump wrote on Twitter yesterday morning.
"NO VOTE WATCHERS OR OBSERVERS allowed, vote tabulated by a Radical Left privately owned company, Dominion, with a bad reputation & bum equipment that couldn't even qualify for Texas (which I won by a lot!), the Fake & Silent Media, & more!"
The Trump campaign has filed lawsuits seeking to overturn the results in multiple states, though without success.
Election officials of both parties have said there is no evidence of major irregularities.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of Trump supporters ventured into Washington to echo his claims of election fraud.
The Million Maga March, referring to Mr Trump's campaign slogan of Make America Great Again, drew supporters to Washington on Saturday.
Mr Trump's motorcade passed through the crowd on its way to his golf course in Virginia, eliciting cheers from demonstrators.
Ms Margarita Urtubey, 49, a horse breeder from Miami, said the election was "so corrupt", adding that Mr Trump won by a landslide. "We are here to march for the 'stop the steal' of this election, to make our voice heard," she said
The march was largely peaceful, though numerous scuffles broke out between Trump supporters and counter-protesters that continued after dark. - REUTERS, AFP
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