Trump Says He’ll Leave the White House if the Electoral College Votes for Biden

President Donald Trump has said he’ll leave the White House if the electoral college votes to make President-elect Joe Biden president. It’s the closest Trump has come to admitting defeat in the 2020 election so far, even as his campaign argues there was widespread voter fraud.

Trump spoke to reports on Thanksgiving and was asked if he’ll leave if the vote in the electoral college goes in Biden’s favor, he said : “Certainly I will. And you know that” but he also added “If they do, they’ve made a mistake.” He also said it would be “a very hard thing to concede.”

The electors are due to meet on December 14 when they will cast their ballots for president. Those ballots will then be officially counted by Congress on January 6, 2021 and Biden will be sworn into office on January 20. There is little prospect Trump can pull off a last minute victory, despite some suggestions that Republicans will try to derail the process.

The president also took the opportunity to criticize Biden for announcing his choices for cabinet. The Democrat has already released several picks to the public who have been largely welcomed by the party, though there may be future divisions between progressives and moderates on some of the choices.

“I think it’s not right that he’s trying to pick a cabinet,” Trump said, going on to say “Don’t let him take credit for the vaccines because the vaccines were me and I pushed people harder than they’ve ever been pushed before.”

The Trump campaign has made repeated and unfounded claims of voter fraud and other election irregularities since November 3 but Trump’s legal team has so far been unsuccessful in challenging the results in court in several key swing states.