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US president Donald Trump on Sunday questioned whether the Supreme Court would ever hear a case airing his unproven allegations of widespread election fraud as senior US Republicans said a transition to a Joe Biden presidency looked inevitable.
Mr Trump’s comments in a telephone interview with Fox News Channel suggested a growing resignation about the results of the November 3rd election that handed the White House to his Democratic opponent Biden, and it came as the Republican president’s team was dealt another blow.
The recount of ballots in Wisconsin’s two largest counties finished on Sunday, confirming Mr Biden won the hotly contested swing state by more than 20,000 votes.
Republican Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri, chairman of the congressional inaugural committee, said the group of senior politicians expects Mr Biden to be sworn in as president on January 20th.
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“We’re working with the Biden administration, the likely administration on both the transition and the inauguration as if we’re moving forward,” Mr Blunt said on CNN’s State of the Union programme, though he stopped short of acknowledging Mr Trump’s loss.
Governor Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas is one of a few Republicans to refer to Mr Biden as the president-elect. “The transition is what is important. The words of president Trump are not quite as significant,” Mr Hutchinson told Fox News on Sunday.
Allegations without evidence
Mr Trump used his interview on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures to repeat the allegations he has made without evidence about widespread electoral fraud. His campaign and legal team have lost dozens of lawsuits by failing to convince judges of election irregularities in states including Michigan, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada, all critical to Mr Biden’s victory.
Mr Trump was not clear on what legal steps he would take next.
“The problem is it’s hard to get it to the Supreme Court,” Mr Trump said, without clarifying whether he thought the court would decline to hear an appeal or whether his campaign may not even make one.
Mr Trump’s legal team has offered conflicting statements on their likely course following a defeat in a federal appeals court on Friday in a case they were pursuing challenging Mr Biden’s win in Pennsylvania.
“On to Scotus” Trump campaign attorney Jenna Ellis wrote on Twitter after the ruling, suggesting a plan to appeal to the US Supreme Court.
Later, however, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani reportedly told One America News Network that the legal team was still weighing which case might be appropriate to pursue at the top court.
Continue to fight
Mr Trump said he will continue to fight the results of the election, saying “my mind will not change in six months”. His comments appeared to signal his intention to continue contesting the outcome even after he leaves office.
Aides say he has been discussing several media ventures, including starting a new television channel or social media company to keep him in the spotlight ahead of a potential 2024 White House bid.
Mr Biden won the presidential election with 306 Electoral College votes – many more than the 270 required – to Mr Trump’s 232. Mr Biden also leads Mr Trump by more than 6 million in the popular vote tally. – Reuters