Trump backtracks after tweeting that Biden won election

London

PRESIDENT Donald Trump appeared to accept for the first time that Joe Biden had been elected the next president, tweeting on Sunday that the Democrat "won because the Election was Rigged".

He later backtracked, saying he conceded "nothing" and repeating his unfounded claims of widespread voting fraud.

"NO VOTE WATCHERS OR OBSERVERS allowed, vote tabulated by a Radical Left privately owned company, Dominion, with a bad reputation & bum equipment that couldn't even qualify for Texas (which I won by a lot!), the Fake & Silent Media, & more!" he had tweeted.

About an hour later, Mr Trump wrote: "He only won in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA. I concede NOTHING! We have a long way to go. This was a RIGGED ELECTION!"

On Friday, the Associated Press and networks called the outstanding states, leaving Mr Biden with 306 Electoral College votes to 232 for Mr Trump, well above the 270 needed to secure the White House.

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Mr Trump has vowed to fight the results in court, but his legal moves have been largely unsuccessful and do not target enough votes to overturn the result.

Mr Trump's refusal to concede has locked up millions of dollars in federal money for the presidential transition and blocked classified intelligence briefings. BLOOMBERG