US elections: Merkel on the phone with Biden – politics



[ad_1]

Most Americans have elected Democrat Joe Biden as the next president of the United States. Donald Trump still in office, however, is trying to do everything possible to reverse Biden’s victory on the legal path. All news and developments at a glance:

Pompeo: “Gradual transition to the second Trump administration”

Tuesday 10 November, 20:23: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo doesn’t seem to want to admit that President Donald Trump was defeated by his challenger Joe Biden in the US election. Asked if his ministry was preparing a handover to Biden’s team, Pompeo said in Washington on Tuesday: “There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration.” However, he seemed to be speaking jokingly. The minister asked to await the further process foreseen by the constitution.

Pompeo reacted subtly to the question of whether Trump’s refusal to admit defeat was not discrediting the State Department’s demands for other countries for fair and free elections. “It’s ridiculous,” Pompeo said. “The United States has an electoral system deeply anchored in our constitution.” This system will be followed. Trump and other prominent Republicans have so far failed to acknowledge Democrat Biden’s victory. Trump criticizes alleged electoral fraud and sues in several states. He did not provide evidence of his fraud allegations.

Merkel on the phone with Biden: desire for close cooperation

Tuesday 10 November, 7.16 pm: Chancellor Angela Merkel has now congratulated Joe Biden on his victory in the US presidential elections and has called for close and confident cooperation. Both agreed that “transatlantic cooperation is of great importance in view of the multitude of global challenges,” government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Tuesday. Merkel also sent her congratulations to Kamala Harris, who was elected Vice President.

Merkel had already congratulated Biden in writing on Saturday. In a public statement Monday, he offered him a stronger German commitment to security issues. “We Germans and we Europeans know that we need to take more responsibility for this partnership in the 21st century,” said the CDU politician. German-American relations had collapsed to their lowest point in Trump’s four years. The federal government is now hoping for a significant improvement.

Trudeau talks to Biden

Tuesday 10 November, 4:20 am: The Canadian Prime Minister said he spoke on the phone with US President-elect Joe Biden. Trudeau said he discussed a number of topics including the crown pandemic, the fight against climate change, and two Canadians jailed in China. As a result, the prime minister was the first state leader to speak to Biden after the US media declared him the winner of the elections over incumbent Donald Trump based on the votes counted.

Beijing arrested former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor in December 2018, just days after Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, a top manager of Chinese company Huawei. The United States has requested his extradition on charges of fraud, the case is currently in Canadian court. The issue has strained relations between China and Canada. The People’s Republic has since sentenced two Canadian citizens to death.

Trump: Politically motivated timing of vaccine news

Tuesday 10 November, 2:30 am: Acting President Donald Trump described the announcement of promising results by the manufacturers of a corona vaccine just days after the US election as politically motivated. Pharmaceutical company Pfizer “didn’t have the courage” to announce the good news before the election, criticized Trump on Twitter. The US company is working on the vaccine with the German company Biontech.

Trump also criticized his administration’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is responsible for the approval in his tweet. The FDA should have announced the results sooner, he complained. “Not for political reasons, but to save lives,” he wrote. Trump had repeatedly promised during the election campaign that there would be good news about vaccines ahead of the November 3 vote – and was apparently hoping for a political favorable wind.

“The FDA and the Democrats didn’t want me to have a vaccine successfully before the election, so it came out five days later,” Trump wrote. His administration’s FDA is headed by Stephen Hahn, appointed by Trump himself as Republican.

Fox News cuts pass at Trump spokesperson press conference

Tuesday 10 November, 2:00 am: For more than four years, conservative American television station Fox News has been the president’s spokesperson. But over the course of Trump’s campaign on alleged large-scale election fraud, the broadcaster increasingly distances itself. For example, the station disrupted a live pass Monday night for a press conference by Trump spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany, like the one Washington Post reported. When she appeared, McEnany repeated the Republican’s claim that there was extensive manipulation in voting and counting.

“There is only one party in America that tries to keep observers out of the rooms where votes are counted, and that, my friends, is the Democratic Party,” said the 32-year-old. Do not object to an election review if you want a correct choice. “Take this position because you accept fraud and illegal voting.”

At this point, news host Neil Cavuto intervened in the studio, explaining, “I think we have to be very clear at this point that they are accusing the other party of condoning the fraud and illegal voting. Until they have further details To confirm these accusations, I cannot continue to show you in good conscience “. It does not rule out that Trump’s team has such evidence – in this case, of course, they will report. But for the moment: “Not so fast”. As the Washington Post citing Fox News Insider, the announcement of the cancellation of the press conference did not come from the station manager, but from Cavuto himself.

Last week, several US broadcasters had already concluded a press conference by US President Trump at the White House, in which he also spoke of fraud. CNN and Fox News had shown everything.

Attorney General Barr clears investigations into alleged election fraud

Tuesday 10 November, 1:40 am: US federal attorneys should investigate allegations of presidential irregularities before the final outcome is known. Attorney General William Barr has given the green light for such investigations. These could happen “if there are clear and suspected allegations of irregularities that – if true – could potentially affect the outcome of a federal election in a single state,” his statement told federal prosecutors, which was available to the agency. AP print.

President Donald Trump still refuses to admit his electoral defeat to Democrat Joe Biden. The incumbent talks about a state-level democratic conspiracy to shift the vote counts in Biden’s favor. Trump has so far remained guilty of the evidence for his claims. Indeed, election officials from both parties publicly declared that the elections went well. Only minor setbacks, typical of elections, were reported.

Indeed, a Department of Justice policy prohibits public legal action before the final official outcome is established. With the approval of department head Barr, federal prosecutors could get around this. States have until December 8 to clarify things like results reports or legal disputes.

McConnell: Biden’s election victory is based only on “preliminary results”

Monday 9 November, 10:03 pm: According to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory is based only on “preliminary results”. Therefore, incumbent President Donald Trump could continue to take legal action against it. In light of the fraud allegations and a probable two-state recount, Trump must not rush to accept the reported results, the influential Republican says.

“President Trump has one hundred percent right to investigate allegations of wrongdoing and to examine his legal options,” McConnell told the Senate.

McConnell points out the fact that the states have not yet presented the final results and that Biden has been declared the winner of the elections only based on the predictions of the main US media. This is so common in the United States, because submitting final results usually takes weeks.

For previous developments since election day, please visit our archived live blog on US elections.

.

[ad_2]
Source link