US secretary of state Mike Pompeo on Tuesday voiced confidence that once every "legal" vote was counted, it would lead to a "second Trump administration," appearing to reject Democratic challenger Joe Biden's victory in the US election.
He spoke as world leaders already have congratulated president-elect Biden. Donald Trump has so far refused to concede and made baseless claims that fraud was marring the results.
“There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration,” Mr Pompeo told a state department news conference. He later sought to assure the world that America’s post-election transition would be successful.
Now speculation that Sec of State #MikePompeo was joking...If not, an astonishing statement by a US Secretary of State...
— Suzanne Lynch (@suzannelynch1) November 10, 2020
“There will be a smooth transition to a second #Trump administration”
pic.twitter.com/2f2ywl2n1d
“We’re going to count all the votes . . . The world should have every confidence that the transition necessary to make sure that the state department is . . . successful today and successful when the president who’s in office on January 20th, a minute after noon, will also be successful.”
Mr Biden, due to take office on January 20th risks a delayed transition as Mr Trump has vowed to push ahead with longshot legal challenges to his election loss. Republican representatives have defended his right to do so.
Asked if Mr Trump’s refusal to concede hampers state department efforts to promote free and fair elections abroad, Mr Pompeo, a close ally and appointee of Mr Trump’s, said: “This department cares deeply to make sure that elections around the world are safe and secure and free and fair.”
The leading Republican in US Congress, senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, has carefully backed Mr Trump, saying that he was “100 per cent within his rights to look into allegations of irregularities,” without citing any evidence.
US attorney general William Barr, a Trump appointee who heads the justice department, on Monday told federal prosecutors to "pursue substantial allegations" of irregularities of voting and the counting of ballots.
In his first official travel after the November 3rd election, Mr Pompeo is due to travel to France, Turkey, Georgia, Israel, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia between November 13th and 23rd. The leaders of some of those countries have already congratulated Mr Biden. – Reuters