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- President Donald Trump only unlocked the presidential transition process after being assured he wouldn’t have to concede defeat, The New York Times reported.
- Despite losing the election more than two weeks ago to Joe Biden, Trump refused to admit that he lost, instead alleging without evidence that his victory was stolen by fraud.
- Trump’s statement on allowing the transition to take place emphasized heavily that he does not accept defeat.
- Some advisors believe that Monday’s approval of the transition is as close to a concession as Trump will ever come.
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President Donald Trump agreed to let the transition to a Biden administration proceed only after being told by advisors that he wouldn’t have to say he conceded defeat, reported The New York Times Monday.
In tweets on Monday, two weeks after losing to President-elect Joe Biden, Trump announced that he was letting the General Services Administration (GSA) “do what needs top be done” for Biden to take office in January.
The GSA provides funds and other resources necessary for the transition from one administration to a new one.
—Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 23, 2020
What was conspicuously lacking in the message was an admission of defeat from the president.
According to the Times, maintaining his groundless claim to have won the election was a condition of letting the transition proceed.
According to the report, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, White House counsel Pat Cipollone, and Trump's personal attorney, Jay Sekulow, spoke to Trump on Monday to push the process ahead.
"He did not need to say the word 'concede,' they told him, according to multiple people briefed on the discussions," reported the Times.
Some advisors reportedly believe that Monday's tweets will be the closest Trump comes to admitting defeat.
In his remarks, Trump went on to repeat unsubstantiated claims that the election was stolen from him via mass voter fraud.
They are claims for which he nor his legal team has produced convincing evidence, and which have been rejected in a slew of court cases.
Trump in the tweets pledged to keep fighting the "good fight".
In the past week the Trump campaign's bid to overturn the election result, led by former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, descended at times into farce.
Campaign attorney Sidney Powell at a press conference last week alleged a vast communist conspiracy to subvert the election, for which she provided no evidence, while black liquid trickled down Giuliani's face as he outlined his plans to overturn the election.
Trump has reportedly grown exasperated by his legal team and their string of failed lawsuits.
In recent days pressure had been growing on Trump to allow the transition to the new government to proceed.
On Monday, 160 top US executives, many of whom are Republican donors, urged the president in an open letter to allow Biden's team to make the necessary preparations to take power on January 20.