President Donald Trump gave his final Thanksgiving address to troops before President-elect Joe Biden takes office in January. After addressing service members, Trump answered questions for the first time since his November 3 election defeat, saying that it would be a “mistake” if the Electoral College votes for Biden next month.
“This election was a fraud,” Trump claimed.
Two weeks ago, a joint statement released by federal and state officials described the presidential election as the “most secure in American history.”
The letter was signed by leaders of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and the National Association of State Election Directors, among others. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency was established two years ago as a branch of Homeland Security during the Trump administration.
In bold, the authors of the statement wrote, “There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.” This statement matches those from secretaries of state and boards of election throughout the US.
In response to the letter, Trump fired US election security head Chris Krebs.
Biden is slated to send 306 electors on his behalf to state capitols on December 4, 36 more than the 270 needed to become president on January 20. Trump has been trying to stop Biden’s electors from casting a vote by whatever means possible. After more than three dozen failed legal challenges since the election, Trump has been meeting with state legislative leaders, most recently on Wednesday with Republican members of the Pennsylvania legislature.
“I know one thing, Joe Biden did not get 80 million votes,” Trump claimed, even though the overwhelming majority of his legal team’s lawsuits have been thrown out.
Trump again expressed frustration over “dumps” of votes. But legislators in Pennsylvania and Michigan refused to let election officials process mail-in ballots, which overwhelming were in favor of Biden, before Election Day. The result was Trump built up massive leads based off those who voted Election Day, but the overwhelmingly Democratic mail-in votes, which were processed in the days after the election, were enough to tilt the two key states in Biden’s favor.
Another state Trump is contesting the results of is Georgia, which elected a Democratic nominee for the first time since Bill Clinton. Trump said he is going to hold a rally in Georgia on Saturday night, but the details of where are still unknown.
Trump was asked if he would attend Biden’s inauguration. He said he knew the answer but would not say whether he would or not. It has been a long-standing tradition that the incoming and outgoing president meet at the White House and travel to the Capitol together before the inauguration.
Trump said, “certainly I will, you know that,” when asked if he would leave the White House on January 20.
The president criticized Biden for beginning to fill out his prospective cabinet before taking office. But Trump as president-elect had named his UN ambassador and secretary of education nominees on the day before Thanksgiving in 2016.
Before answering questions on the election, Trump said it has been an “honor” serving as the military’s commander-in-chief.
"Many of you are very far from home, but today we hope, you know, that millions of American families are praying and gratitude for the sacrifices you make and the incredible, absolutely incredible job you do,” Trump said. “As president. I want to personally express my profound, thanks to each and every one of you for your devoted service to our nation. Our nation is doing very well. It's the highest honor of my life to serve as your commander-in-chief."