Tag: Biden

Trump says he will not ‘change (his) mind’ on election fraud claims

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — In the first TV interview since losing his re-election bid, US President Donald Trump indicated Sunday that he will never concede to Joe Biden and abandon his conspiracy theory about mass ballot fraud. “It’s not like you’re gonna change my mind. My mind will not change in six months,” Trump told Fox News interviewer Maria Bartiromo. “This election was rigged. This election was a total fraud,” he claimed, again without […]

China’s Xi congratulates Biden on US election win: state media

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday congratulated Joe Biden on his US election victory, state media reported. In his telegram, Xi said both countries should “stick to no conflict or confrontation, mutual respect, (and) the spirit of win-win cooperation” in order to promote the “noble cause” of world peace and development. Xi’s message came more than two weeks after several other major countries had congratulated Biden. US-China relations have hit historic […]

Biden to name Blinken as US top diplomat: report

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate veteran diplomat Antony Blinken as his secretary of state, a decision likely to signal a return to multilateralism after Donald Trump’s shunning of traditional allies, US media reported Sunday. The 58-year-old Blinken, a former deputy secretary of state under Barack Obama, is also a longtime aide to Biden. Bloomberg and The New York Times reported the plan to nominate him. Biden is expected […]

Trump’s son Don Jr positive for Covid-19: spokesman

  by Jerome Cartillier Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump’s eldest son Donald Trump Jr has tested positive for Covid-19 and is quarantining without symptoms, the latest in a long list of infections among those with links to the White House. “Don tested positive at the start of the week and has been quarantining out at his cabin since the result,” his spokesman said. “He’s been completely asymptomatic so […]

Biden denounces ‘irresponsible’ Trump fight to reverse election

  by Jerome Cartillier with Michael Mathes and Shaun Tandon in Washington Agence France Presse WILMINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday accused Donald Trump of brazenly damaging democracy as the incumbent pressed on with a campaign to reverse his election loss through fraud claims and personal outreach to election authorities. Trump is behind “incredibly damaging messages being sent to the rest of the world about how democracy functions,” Biden told […]

White House planning for second Trump term despite defeat: official

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The White House is planning for President Donald Trump to serve a second term despite his reelection loss, a top official said Friday. “We are moving forward here at the White House under the assumption that there will be a second Trump term,” the outgoing president’s trade advisor Peter Navarro said on Fox Business Network. Trump has yet to concede nearly a week after US media announced that his […]

New covid outbreak hits US Secret Service: over 130 agents infected with COVID, says US media

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Secret Service, which guards President Donald Trump, President-elect Joe Biden, and the White House, has been struck by an outbreak of Covid-19, US media reported Friday. The Washington Post said that more than 130 Secret Service agents were infected by coronavirus or in quarantine due to contact with infected people. The outbreak came after numerous agents traveled to campaign rallies with Trump where many officials and most […]

‘Time will tell’: Trump comes closest yet to admitting defeat

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) –US President Donald Trump came close but stopped just short on Friday of acknowledging he lost the November 3 election to Democrat Joe Biden and said “time will tell.” Trump, who has refused to concede he lost the election, was speaking at a briefing at the White House on the Covid-19 pandemic. “Ideally we won’t go to a lockdown,” he said. “I will not go. This administration will not be going […]

China sends ‘congratulations’ to Joe Biden on US election win

  BEIJING, China (AFP) — China congratulated US President-elect Joe Biden on Friday nearly a week after he was declared winner of the American election. US-China ties have grown increasingly strained in recent years under the administration of incumbent Donald Trump, and relations are as icy as at any time since formal ties were established four decades ago. “We respect the choice of the American people. We express our congratulations to Mr Biden and Ms […]

Biden tells world leaders ‘America is back’ but Pompeo digs in

by Shaun TANDON WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The leaders of close US allies on Tuesday telephoned President-elect Joe Biden and pledged to work together but in an extraordinary break, America’s top diplomat Mike Pompeo insisted that Donald Trump would remain in power. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel all offered congratulations in calls to Biden, who a week earlier edged out Trump in the presidential election. […]

Trump refuses to concede, Biden leads on Covid

by Sebastian Smith with Angela Weiss in Wilmington WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump, who is refusing to concede election defeat, injected new volatility Monday by firing his defense secretary, while President-elect Joe Biden made good on a promise to focus on leading the country out of the Covid-19 crisis. With construction already starting in central Washington for the January 20 inauguration ceremony, an awkward and potentially chaotic transition period is underway. Trump, […]

Trudeau calls to congratulate Biden on election win

OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday called US President-elect Joe Biden to congratulate him on his election win, and discussed working together to fight the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change. Trudeau, who was one of the first leaders to congratulate Biden on Saturday, less than an hour after US media called it, was also “the first international leader to speak with the president-elect,” Trudeau’s office said in a statement. The […]