President Donald Trump tweeted Monday evening that he would "never concede" despite a decision from an official in his administration that recognized president-elect Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election.
"What does GSA being allowed to preliminarily work with the Dems have to do with continuing to pursue our various cases on what will go down as the most corrupt election in American political history?" Trump tweeted. "We are moving full speed ahead."
Trump's statement also included references to "fake ballots" — a claim his legal team has not been able to prove — and a debunked conspiracy theory about ballot software, prompting Twitter to place a warning label on the tweet that provided users more information about the realities of voter fraud.
What does GSA being allowed to preliminarily work with the Dems have to do with continuing to pursue our various cases on what will go down as the most corrupt election in American political history? We are moving full speed ahead. Will never concede to fake ballots & “Dominion”.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 24, 2020
On Monday evening, the General Services Administration (GSA) formally ascertained Biden as the winner of the 2020 election. The decision allows the Biden transition team access to government funds to begin hiring and allows incoming Biden administration officials access to classified information, like the presidential daily briefing.
The decision by GSA Sec. Emily Murphy to formalize the transition comes several weeks after most major media outlets projected Biden as the winner in the 2020 election. The delay in recognizing Biden as the winner of the election prompted some Republican lawmakers weeks ago to call the agency to begin the transition process.
On Monday, Murphy said she held off on starting the transition process due to the Trump campaign's attempts to contest the results.
While Trump has continuously claimed the election was beset by widespread voter fraud, lawsuits by his campaign have yet to provide any evidence that would change the outcome of the results in any state.
Despite reports that Murphy had held off on starting the transition process out of favoritism for Trump, she claimed Monday that the decision was based solely on her legal duty.
"Contrary to media reports and insinuations, my decision was not made out of fear or favoritism," she said in a statement. "Instead, I strongly believe that the statute requires that the GSA Administrator ascertain, not impose, the apparent president-elect. Unfortunately, the statute provides no procedures or standards for this process, so I looked to precedent from prior elections involving legal challenges and incomplete counts."
Murphy also said she received threats against herself and her family.
"I did, however, receive threats online, by phone, and by mail directed at my safety, my family, my staff, and even my pets in an effort to coerce me into making this determination prematurely," she said.