President Trump broke cover on Saturday morning to play golf after firing off a barrage of angry tweets as Joe Biden edged closer to White House victory, making a series of unfounded claims including that tens of thousands of mail-in votes had been 'illegally' cast because they arrived after 8pm on election day, hundreds of thousands more should not be considered because they were not observed being counted and that he had won 'by a lot'.
The election was called for Biden by multiple news networks and the Associated Press at 11.25am on Saturday morning after his lead in Pennsylvania grew to more than 30,000.
Trump, refusing to accept that the results so far have been legitimate, has vowed to contest them.
On Saturday morning he tweeted that his supporters have been banned from observing vote counting in some of the key swing states despite shouting 'stop the count!' and that officials had been 'covering windows' to block their views and forbidding them from overseeing the process.
He also promised a 'big' press conference in Philadelphia, where vote counting continues, where he said his lawyers would be present, then was seen leaving the White House in casual dress.
While in the car, he tweeted a link to a Breitbart story about a 'glitch' in vote counting software, then said: 'I WON THIS ELECTION BY A LOT!'. He was seen arriving at his golf club in Sterling, Virginia, shortly afterwards.
Trump has not yet offered any proof of his claims. His campaign has vowed to file lawsuits in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Nevada to argue that the results cannot be trusted, and he is demanding a recount in Wisconsin. But Trump's campaign issued a statement in Trump's name claiming Biden was not the winner and that it would fight on with legal efforts to challenge the votes - which so far have badly faltered.
As he golfed, Trump's campaign issues a lengthy statement:
'We all know why Joe Biden is rushing to falsely pose as the winner, and why his media allies are trying so hard to help him: they don't want the truth to be exposed. The simple fact is this election is far from over. Joe Biden has not been certified as the winner of any states, let alone any of the highly contested states headed for mandatory recounts, or states where our campaign has valid and legitimate legal challenges that could determine the ultimate victor. In Pennsylvania, for example, our legal observers were not permitted meaningful access to watch the counting process. Legal votes decide who is president, not the news media.
'Beginning Monday, our campaign will start prosecuting our case in court to ensure election laws are fully upheld and the rightful winner is seated. The American People are entitled to an honest election: that means counting all legal ballots, and not counting any illegal ballots. This is the only way to ensure the public has full confidence in our election. It remains shocking that the Biden campaign refuses to agree with this basic principle and wants ballots counted even if they are fraudulent, manufactured, or cast by ineligible or deceased voters. Only a party engaged in wrongdoing would unlawfully keep observers out of the count room – and then fight in court to block their access.
'So what is Biden hiding? I will not rest until the American People have the honest vote count they deserve and that Democracy demands.'
'We all know why Joe Biden is rushing to falsely pose as the winner, and why his media allies are trying so hard to help him: they don't want the truth to be exposed,' the statement said.
'The simple fact is this election is far from over. Joe Biden has not been certified as the winner of any states, let alone any of the highly contested states headed for mandatory recounts, or states where our campaign has valid and legitimate legal challenges that could determine the ultimate victor. Legal votes decide who is president, not the news media.'
In Wilmington, Delaware, where Biden was watching the news at home, cars could be heard honking in celebration.
Biden's campaign manager, Jen O'Malley Dillon was spotted by reporters in the lobby of the Westin, adjacent to Biden's Wilmington headquarters, in a white BIDEN t-shirt. Her mother had called to tell her CNN had called the race. 'Ecstatic - a great day for this country,' she said.
The former vice president sealed victory - after capitalizing on the coronavirus and stark disapproval of the president among women and minorities - with a result that was dramatically closer than many experts had predicted, denying him what he hoped would a total rejection of Trumpism.
