Y I K E S
US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has said there will be a "smooth transition of power to a second Trump administration," continuing the denial that Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in the recent US election.
Biden won both the popular vote and in the electoral college after Pennsylvania turned blue, securing victory for the democratic candidate and an end to Donald Trump's reign.
But Trump's campaign are refusing to accept defeat. Many baseless claims of voter fraud have been made, with Trump tweeting countless times about how mail-in votes were disproportionately for Biden, after spending months telling his supporters to vote in person on the day.
Broadcasters - including Fox News, who have been pro-Trump over the past four years - have also cut off live feeds of Trump and other members of his campaign speaking to the press due to the number of falsehoods in their speeches.
And fears that Trump would not allow a peaceful transition of power have intensified after Pompeo's comment on Tuesday.
In a press conference, Pompeo was asked: "Is the state department currently preparing to engage with the Biden transition team? And if not, at what point does it delay or hamper a smooth transition or pose a risk to national security?"
His response was as follows:
"There will be a smooth transition... to a second Trump administration.
"We're ready. The world is watching what's taking place and we're going to count all the votes. When the process is complete there will be electors selected...
"There is a process, the constitution lays it out pretty clearly. The world should have every confidence that the transition necessary to make sure that the state department is functional today is successful and successful with a president who's in office on January 20th, a minute after noon."
https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1326227756263280641
