White House under assumption of ‘second Trump term’, says top trade adviser Peter Navarro
- The comments marked the second time this week that a senior administration official has falsely projected four more years for Trump
- Denial of loss comes as some media outlets call Georgia for Joe Biden, pushing him ahead in electoral votes, 306 to 232
The Trump administration on Friday doubled down on its refusal to acknowledge the results of the presidential election, with top trade adviser Peter Navarro asserting falsely that US President Donald Trump “won the election” and claiming that he was on track for another four years in office.
“We are moving forward here at the White House under the assumption that there will be a second Trump term,” Navarro said in an interview with Fox Business.
The comments marked the second time this week that a senior administration official has falsely projected a second Trump term. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday vowed a “smooth transition to a second Trump administration”.
Pressed later on Friday about whether Trump would attend President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Fox Business: “The president will attend his own inauguration. He would have to be there, in fact.”
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Pompeo says there will be ‘a smooth transition to a second Trump administration’
The statements run counter to the reality of Biden’s increasingly resilient victory in both the critical Electoral College and the popular vote. On Friday afternoon, US media outlets including CNN, The New York Times and NBC determined that Biden had won Georgia, taking his final electoral vote tally to 306 versus Trump’s 232.