![]() ![]() Trump is going to do things that will weaken our democracy for a generation over the next weeks. The "baseless idea that the election was stolen from Trump" will become an article of faith in the Republican party, said Steve Schmidt, a political strategist who worked on Republican campaigns including for President George W Bush and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Hopes of a rapid concession continue to fade amid reports the Trump campaign is planning a messaging blitz starting on Monday to stoke doubts about the election. Another potential victim is said to be Defence secretary Mark Esper. Mr Trump could use the coming days and weeks to take aim at officials in his administration that he’s blamed for failing him, including infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, and Attorney-General William Barr and FBI director Christopher Wray, both of whom have incurred the President’s wrath in recent months. “It’s very damaging to the people of this country … it’s why really a concession statement is so important. “It gives fodder to our adversaries around the world to say: ‘Look, even a sitting president says you can’t trust the American electoral system’,” he told CNN late on Sunday. The President’s former national security adviser John Bolton slammed Mr Trump’s behaviour as “so dangerous”. ![]() CNN reported that Russian TV was widely disseminating Mr Trump’s unfounded claims of electoral fraud and that the race was stolen from him. ![]() Mr Trump’s insistence that the election isn’t over is also being used by America’s enemies as a propaganda coup to denigrate democracy. If Congress falls short, or Mr Trump refuses to sign the bills, the fallout could add a negative shock to the US economy as it struggles to shake off the fast-deteriorating pandemic, which has generated a one-day record 126,742 new coronavirus cases. The Trump campaign is expected to file a flurry of fresh claims about the election, primarily in Pennsylvania where they say Republicans were prevented from scrutinising mail-in ballots.įrom risks for investors to geopolitical threats, Mr Trump’s refusal to concede is generating unanticipated ripple effects that could derail markets in coming days and weeks.Ĭoncerns are growing over a December 11 deadline for Congress to pass a series of major annual spending bills to keep government agencies operating. Mr Trump spent a second day, on Sunday, playing golf at his Virginia resort, as speculation swirled that he has been approached by some family members, including his wife Melania and son-in-law Jared Kushner, to acknowledge he has lost. "That's something we're going to have to do, and we're going to have to do it in a bipartisan way." "We begin, I think, with an immediate need to get relief to families and small businesses that are suffering as a result of the economic downturn associated with COVID," Republican Senator Mitt Romney said on CNN. Cases are surging, and the economy is showing signs of slowing again after much of the stimulus money Congress approved early this year dried up. Republican lawmakers argued at the weekend that those results amounted to a rejection of far-left policies and a call for compromise, most immediately on legislation addressing the coronavirus crisis. Ms Pelosi will also continue as House Speaker, though over a smaller majority after a lacklustre showing by Democrats in House and Senate races. It is now even less certain whether they will be able to find common ground in the weeks ahead: Senator McConnell is pushing for a narrow and targeted bill, while Ms Pelosi continues to insist on a broader and bolder relief package.ĭespite Mr Biden's victory, Senator McConnell is likely to retain his role as majority leader in the new Congress, although that will depend on the results of two run-off Senate races in Georgia in early January. Gettyįailure to reach a deal on the December 11 government funding deadline, for example, would result in a government shutdown, and Mr Trump has not signalled whether he would sign a new spending bill.Īt the same time, Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell both say they want to pass new economic and healthcare relief measures to address the surging coronavirus pandemic, but this has already been held up for months. Joe Biden visits the grave of his son with his grandson Hunter and his daughter Ashley. ![]() Members of Congress have to deal with a range of funding and legislative issues on their return to Capitol Hill on Monday (Tuesday AEDT), within a dramatically-recast environment that Mr Trump could use to exact revenge. Washington | Donald Trump’s refusal to concede defeat is stoking fresh fears he will throw up roadblocks and booby traps for President-elect Joe Biden that could shut down government or stymie fresh stimulus and pandemic financing. ![]()
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