Trump cites Biden victory on Twitter, still presses false rigging claims

[November 16, 2020]    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump appeared on Sunday to publicly acknowledge for the first time that his Democratic rival Joe Biden won the Nov. 3 U.S. presidential election, but reiterated his false claims that the vote was rigged.

President Donald Trump pauses as he speaks about the "Operation Warp Speed" program, the joint Defense Department and HHS initiative that has struck deals with several drugmakers in an effort to help speed up the search for effective treatments for the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, during an event in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., November 13, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo

"He won because the Election was Rigged," Trump tweeted.

Trump had yet to concede the election to Biden who was called as the winner Nov. 7 after enough state results came in to hand the former Democratic vice president victory.

Biden has won 306 votes in the state-by-state Electoral College system that determines the presidential winner, according to Edison Research, far more than the 270 needed.

Instead, Trump has spent his days with few public events and pressed unsubstantiated allegations of fraud on social media.

The U.S. President has also stalled the government's normal process of preparing for a new presidential administration, which both Democrats and some Republican have said has serious national security implications.

Trump's campaign team and Republicans have also sought to press their case in court in key battleground states, but have been widely rejected.

Meanwhile, Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have moved forward with their transition efforts, including briefings on the COVID-19 outbreak.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Susan Heavey; Editing by Alexander Smith)

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