As his chances of re-election hinge solely on legal intervention, US President Donald Trump has asserted his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, should not claim victory in the US presidential election. Trump also hinted at a prolonged legal battle.
Biden was projected as winning Pennsylvania, which has 20 Electoral College votes, on Friday. Pennsylvania's Electoral College votes would take Biden safely past the majority figure of 270 Electoral College votes.
Taking to Twitter late on Friday, Trump said, "Joe Biden should not wrongfully claim the office of the President. I could make that claim also. Legal proceedings are just now beginning!"
Trump reiterated the allegation of losing the lead he held in multiple states on election night (November 3), alluding to the possibility of fraud.
Trump tweeted, "I had such a big lead in all of these states late into election night, only to see the leads miraculously disappear as the days went by. Perhaps these leads will return as our legal proceedings move forward!"
Earlier on Friday, the Biden Campaign spokesperson said, Trump might be escorted out of the White House if he refused to concede. "As we said on July 19th, the American people will decide this election. And the United States government is perfectly capable of escorting trespassers out of the White House,” Biden Campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said on Friday.
Meanwhile, the US Supreme Court on Friday approved a petition from the Republican Party to segregate ballots in Pennsylvania that arrived after election day.
"On Friday evening, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., who received the petition because he is the justice responsible for that region, approved the GOP request for now, ordering county boards to comply with state guidance to keep the late ballots separate. However, Alito did not direct election officials to stop counting the ballots, as the Republicans had also sought. He called for a response from state officials by Saturday afternoon," The Washington Post reported.
