A senior White House aide says US President Donald Trump has no plans to immediately concede his possible election defeat to his Democratic rival, Joe Biden.
The unidentified senior aide of the president was quoted as saying by US media reports on Friday that Trump does not have plans to immediately concede the election to Joe Biden after his Democratic rival pulled ahead in key states that could deliver him enough electoral votes to win the race for the White House.
Biden pulled ahead of Trump in Georgia and has also taken the lead over the Republican president in Pennsylvania, according to latest media projections.
Biden's claiming of victory in Pennsylvania would suffice for him to accumulate the required 270 electoral votes to become the next US president after he won 264 Electoral College votes.
Trump, however, would need to take North Carolina, Georgia and Pennsylvania to secure 271.
Reacting to the latest developments, the senior Trump aide told Fox News that some of the president's counselors say the concession is the right thing to do, while others are pushing him to continue to fight to ensure the vote were correct and legitimate.
The aide told Trump's favorite news channel that the president is "simply skeptical."
“He warned about this for months,” the aide said. “The media didn't take it seriously, and now, here we are with the scenario.”
The aide said the president “may ultimately concede,” but “he's just not there yet.”
Responding to the aide's comments, Biden’s spokesperson said, "As we said on July 19th, the American people will decide this election."
"The United States government is perfectly capable of escorting trespassers out of the White House,” campaign spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement.
Trump on Thursday vowed that he and his campaign would “not allow corruption to steal” the election, while maintaining that he will win the 2020 presidential race.
The Trump campaign has filed lawsuits in a number of states this week, seeking access to poll watching, as well as a federal lawsuit in Nevada urging officials to stop counting “illegal” ballots, claiming thousands of ballots were sent to non-residents and the deceased.
The president has also asked for a recount in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.