Election updates: Biden and Harris to address economy Monday; Giuliani claims to have proof he ‘can’t disclose yet’
USA TODAY’S coverage of the 2020 election continues this week after Joe Biden won a bitterly fought presidential election and states prepare to finish certifying their vote counts.
Be sure to refresh this page often to get the latest information on how things are going.
USA TODAY will have live election information from across the country.
Biden to speak on economic plans Monday
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will speak about the economy Monday afternoon in Wilmington, Delaware, according to a press release from the Biden-Harris transition team.
The Democratic duo will speak “on the economic recovery and building back better in the long-term,” in their first speech addressing the country’s economic situation since their victory in the presidential election.
During the campaign, Biden laid out an expansive economic agenda focused on increasing the number of U.S. jobs, strengthening the social safety net and fighting economic inequality.
The scale of Biden’s plans now, however, hinge on whether Democrats will narrowly control the Senate or if all legislation must be negotiated with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Analysts have projected that Biden’s proposals will bring back the 11 million jobs and $670 billion in annualized gross domestic product wiped out – and not yet recovered – in the crisis more rapidly than if President Donald Trump had won a second term.
The speech in Wilmington is scheduled for 1:45 p.m. EST.
– Matthew Brown and Paul Davidson
Biden-Harris economic proposals:What Biden and other Democrats have proposed for 401(k) plans, home ownership and building wealth
Giuliani: ‘We have proof that I can’t disclose yet’
Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, backtracked the sentiment in the president’s tweets earlier in the morning where he appeared to acknowledge that President-elect Joe Biden won had won the election during an interview with Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”
Giuliani said the tweet – in which Trump said Biden won because the election was somehow “rigged” – was referencing the unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud that Giuliani, the president and other Trump allies have made.
There is no evidence to support their claims of fraud or that would lead one to suspect Biden’s victory is the result of large numbers of illegal votes. Giuliani claimed to possess evidence supporting his claims but declined to share it on air.
“We have proof that I can’t disclose yet,” he said.
He similarly promised to produce proof at a later date during past interviews about the Russian interference investigation, Trump’s impeachment and his accusations against Hunter Biden. In each of those cases, he either never ultimately produced the evidence, or it was less compelling than promised.
The former New York City mayor made several false and unfounded claims about the presidential election, including the false conspiracy theory that some voting machines switched votes from Trump to Biden, and the false claims of vote-rigging in key swing states.
“It’s way beyond what people think,” Giuliani exclaimed, saying that he wished that the Trump campaign’s allegations be “investigated as a national security matter.”
The Trump campaign has filed election lawsuits in states across the country, some of which remain ongoing while others were dismissed outright.
In a tweet Sunday night, Trump downplayed the failed lawsuits and vowed the “big cases showing the unconstitutionality of the 2020 Election” and “the outrage of things that were done to change the outcome” will “soon be filed.”
– Matthew Brown
Election security officials:‘No evidence voting systems compromised’
Obama says he does not take Trump ‘personally or seriously’
Former President Barack Obama said that he does not take President Donald Trump “personally or seriously” during one of his first post-election media appearances with CBS’ “Sunday Morning.”
Obama, who will soon publish a memoir titled “A Promised Land” on his presidency and thoughts about America’s future, said of Trump that “that there are many things he says that I do not take personally or seriously — although I think they can often be destructive and harmful.”
The former president lamented the bitter and fraught political climate in the country, arguing that “certain norms, certain institutional values” had “been breached.”
“We are still deeply divided,” Obama noted. As to what is driving the division, Obama partly blamed hyper-partisan media that present an “alternative worldview” to many of the president’s supporters. He said it is “very hard for a democracy to function if we are operating on just a completely different set of facts.”
The former president also said that it “has been disappointing” to watch Republican leaders support Trump’s conspiracy theories about voter fraud, but that it’s “been sort of par for the course during these four years.”
Reflecting on his career in politics, Obama ruled out any cabinet position or higher office “because Michelle would leave me.”
“She’d be like, what? You’re doing what,” Obama mused.
– Matthew Brown
Barack Obama to Gayle King:‘There is no legal basis’ for Donald Trump’s claim of election fraud
Incoming White House chief of staff: Trump’s tweets don’t decide who’s president
Incoming White House chief of staff Ron Klain told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that President Donald Trump’s claims of unfairness in the presidential race are “baselessly alleging” fraud when Biden “won because he got more votes.”
“Donald Trump’s Twitter feed doesn’t make Joe Biden president or not president. The American people did that,” Klain responded.
For an effective transition of power, the Biden camp will need access to government services they’ve so far been denied. Klain said the president-elect’s team hopes to see the General Services Administration will release the funds needed to start that process in the coming week.
“Joe Biden’s going to become president of the United States in the midst of an ongoing crisis. That has to be a seamless transition,” Klain urged, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 245,000 people in the U.S.
Klain also said that Biden had spoken with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer about the need for “urgent action” on the coronavirus and economy.
“We have her back in handling this,” Klain said of Pelosi’s legislating. “Keep doing what you’re doing to the Republicans. Let’s get this done.”
Any potential coronavirus relief or economic stimulus deal, and indeed any subsequent legislation for a Biden administration, will go through a Republican-controlled Senate unless two runoff Senate races in Georgia are won by the Democrats.
“It will certainly be helpful to win those seats in Georgia, but we’re not going to let anything deter us from moving forward with our agenda,” Klain said. He added that, “I think you’ll see the president-elect campaign down there as we get closer to election day.”
The Senate runoffs in Georgia are scheduled for Jan. 5, fifteen days before Biden is scheduled to be sworn in as the 46th president.
– Matthew Brown
Ex-national security adviser Bolton: Trump not conceding a ‘character test’ for GOP
Former White House national security adviser John Bolton excoriated Republican leaders Sunday on ABC News’ “This Week,” saying that it is “very important” the party acknowledge President Donald Trump lost his reelection bid.
Bolton said that “it’s clearer and clearer there isn’t any evidence” to substantiate Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud, but also noted that “if the Republican voters are only hearing Donald Trump’s misrepresentations, it’s not surprising that they believe it.”
When asked his opinion of Trump’s refusal to concede, Bolton said, “Well, if he had any character, I would say it’s perfectly in character.”
“It displeases him when reality doesn’t conform to the image that he has of it,” continued the adviser to several Republican administrations, who is known for his hawkish views. He added that while he doesn’t expect Trump “to go graciously” he does “expect him to go.”
Bolton said that he thought it was “critical” for Republican leaders to oppose the president’s unfounded claims and that the situation presented a “character test for the Republican Party.”
“I think pretty soon we’ll get the stab in the back theories,” Bolton predicted of Trump’s ultimate response to his loss. “We’ll get the dark conspiracy theories continued. And he will make life as difficult as he can for the incoming Biden administration.”
Bolton also called recent firings of senior officials in the departments of Defense, State and Homeland Security “decapitations” and predicted they would be “very damaging, not just for the current administration, but for the incoming administration as well.”
Trump later shot back on Twitter, writing that “John Bolton was one of the dumbest people in government that I’ve had the “pleasure” to work with.” Trump also tweeted that Bolton “illegally” shared classified, a claim that the Justice Department made in its lawsuit opposing the publication of Bolton’s memoir of his time in the Trump administration.
“A sullen, dull and quiet guy, he added nothing to National Security except, ‘Gee, let’s go to war.’,” the president tweeted.
– Matthew Brown
Arkansas GOP governor expects Biden to be the next president
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said that he expected Joe Biden to be the next president of the United States, becoming the latest on a small but growing list of elected Republicans who have acknowledged Biden’s victory.
“It was good actually to see President Trump tweet out that [Biden] won. I think that’s the start of an acknowledgment,” Hutchinson said Sunday on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”
Hutchinson also said that he thinks it is “very important” that Biden has access to intelligence briefings an incoming president is normally given during the transition process, citing the need to “make sure that he is prepared,” citing foreign adversaries and the coronavirus pandemic.
Hutchinson noted that the Department of Homeland Security “indicated this week that there’s not any evidence of rampant fraud in the election that would undermine the result,” a finding that President Donald Trump has directly contradicted.
Hutchinson, who hails from a state Trump won by 28 points, did not think that Trump’s influence in the party would wane anytime soon. “Clearly President Trump will have a voice for a long time in the party,” he said.
“Anybody that can generate those kinds of crowds … He will have an influence for some time to come.”
– Matthew Brown
Trump acknowledges Biden ‘won,’ repeats claims about ‘rigged’ election
President Donald Trump for the first time acknowledged his Democratic opponent Joe Biden won the presidential election, though he repeated his false claims that the race was “rigged” by Democrats.
“He won because the Election was Rigged,” Trump tweeted. He went on to repeat a claim about election observers not being allowed to watch the vote count, decry alleged media bias, and allude to a discredited claim that a company behind the vote tabulation in some states somehow contributed to his loss.
Trump has refused to concede since the vote count put the race out of reach for him and the election was called for President-elect Biden. His administration has also refused to work with Biden’s transition team, blocking the release of funds to help smooth the incoming administration’s path and preventing Biden from receiving the daily security briefings a president-elect would normally be entitled to.
Despite the tweet acknowledging Biden’s win, Trump continued to post tweets about unsubstantiated claims that fraud or irregularities cost him the election. And he insisted he doesn’t intend to concede.
“He only won in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA. I concede NOTHING!” Trump said in another tweet. “We have a long way to go. This was a RIGGED ELECTION!”
“WE WILL WIN!” he insisted in another.
The president has launched a series of legal challenges but most have so far been thrown out by the courts.
On Saturday, Trump said his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani would be leading his continued efforts to challenge the election results.
– William Cummings
Fact check:Dominion voting machines didn’t delete votes from Trump, switch them to Biden
Fauci: 200,000 more COVID-19 deaths over next 4 months ‘possible’
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN’s “State of the Union” that projections of more than 200,000 COVID-19 deaths over the winter months could be “possible” but advised that stricter measures could prevent such a scenario.
“The issue is the models are as good as the assumptions you put into the model,” Fauci cautioned. “We’ve got to change those assumptions, we’ve got to say we’re going to turn it around by by very, very vigorously adhering to public health measures.”
Fauci’s comments come as COVID-19 hospitalizations break records in 25 states while the virus spreads exponentially across the country.
The NIAID director has emerged as one of the nation’s foremost communicators on public health guidelines and the science around combatting the coronavirus.
His stardom amid the pandemic has made him a polarizing figure, especially as Fauci has become more willing to criticize President Donald Trump’s rhetoric toward the coronavirus and behavior in the White House.
“Well, I’ve been as transparent and open with telling the administration the facts. What they do with it is a different story,” Fauci told CNN about his experience with the Trump administration.”
Fauci also lamented the stalling of the presidential transition process, saying that “it would be better if we could start working with” the Biden transition team. He did not comment on the president’s unfounded claims that the election was “rigged” or fraudulent.
– Matthew Brown
GOP lawmakers reject ploy to flip electors
Republican leaders in Michigan and three other critical states won by President-elect Joe Biden say they won’t participate in a legally dubious scheme to flip their state’s electors to vote for President Donald Trump. Their comments effectively shut down a half-baked plot some Republicans floated as a last chance to keep Trump in the White House.
State GOP lawmakers in Michigan, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have all said they would not intervene in the selection of electors, who ultimately cast the votes that secure a candidate’s victory. Such a move would violate state law and a vote of the people, several noted.
“I do not see, short of finding some type of fraud — which I haven’t heard of anything — I don’t see us in any serious way addressing a change in electors,” said Rusty Bowers, Arizona’s Republican House speaker.
Bowers said he’s been inundated with emails pleading for the legislature to intervene. “They are mandated by statute to choose according to the vote of the people,” he said.
The idea loosely involves GOP-controlled legislatures dismissing Biden’s popular vote wins in their states and opting to select Trump electors. While the endgame was unclear, it appeared to hinge on the expectation that a conservative-leaning Supreme Court would settle any dispute over the move.
Still, it has been promoted by Trump allies, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and is an example of misleading information and false claims fueling skepticism among Trump supporters about the integrity of the vote.
– Bob Christie and Nicholas Riccardi, The Associated Press
Counter-protesters clash with Trump supporters after DC rally
WASHINGTON — Tens of thousands of people clad in red, white and blue rallied and marched in support of outgoing President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., on Saturday afternoon to protest supposed “voter fraud” in the 2020 presidential election. But as night fell, skirmishes between protesters and counter-protesters broke out across the city.
At least 20 people had been arrested as of Saturday evening on a variety of charges, including assault and weapons possession, The Associated Press reported. One stabbing was reported, two police officers were injured and several firearms were also recovered by police.
The crowd was largely protesting “voter fraud,” to “show support for our President” and to “preserve the integrity of the vote,” according to various event pages. Trump has refused to concede and leveled baseless allegations of voter fraud to falsely claim the election was stolen from him.
Most of the rally participants were not wearing face masks, which help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The massive crowd, filled with red Make America Great Again hats and large flags with Trump’s name, was an unusual site in the nation’s capital, a liberal city. Biden won D.C with 93% of the vote
A group of several dozen people – many wearing all black – moved through the streets, targeting anyone in Trump attire. A group of Trump supporters were dining at P.J. Clarke’s near the White House when someone launched a firework at them, which exploded near a couple’s table as they walked away.
– Christal Hayes, N’dea Yancey-Bragg and Grace Hauck
*** This article has been archived for your research. The original version from USA TODAY can be found here ***
