Trump concedes 'nothing' on election; Biden team to meet vaccine makers

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday briefly acknowledged dropping the U.S. election in a morning Twitter post but backtracked, expressing he concedes "nothing," and vowing to keep up a court fight that election-law authorities say is certainly unlikely to succeed.

President-elect Joe Biden centered on the coronavirus pandemic, an emergency that is intensifying in the weeks before he takes office, setting meetings with vaccine developers.

Ron Klain, Biden's pick for White House chief of staff, urged Trump's administration to permit a seamless transition, calling it vital for national security and combating COVID-19.

The full total number of U.S. coronavirus cases passed 11 million on Sunday, regarding to Reuters data, a million more new cases from simply a week ago, the fastest increase since the pandemic began.

The health crisis is a paramount concern for Biden, who takes office on Jan 20. Klain explained Biden's scientific advisers would talk with Pfizer Inc and other drugmakers beginning this week to get ready for the "giant logistical project" of widespread vaccination against a virus which has killed a lot more than 245,000 Americans and thrown millions more out of work.

Biden defeated Trump in the Nov 3 election by winning a number of battleground states the Republican incumbent had won found in 2016. The Democratic former vice president also gained the national preferred vote by at least 5.5 million votes, or 3.6 percentage points, with some ballots still being counted.

Trump, pursuing long-shot litigation contesting election results in several states, made conflicting statements on Twitter. He initially seemed to admit for the first time publicly that Biden earned, then reversed course. Trump also repeated unfounded promises of widespread voter fraud.

"He won because the Election was Rigged," Trump wrote, not referring to Biden by brand, adding a list of complaints about vote counting. About 90 minutes later, Trump wrote: "He only gained in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA. I concede NOTHING!"

After a golf outing at a club he owns in Virginia, Trump stated on Twitter he would soon record "big cases showing the unconstitutionality of the 2020 Election." Trump's campaign possesses filed lawsuits wanting to overturn the results in multiple states, without success.

Legal experts have stated the Trump litigation stands little potential for altering the election's outcome, and election officials of both parties have stated there is no proof major irregularities.

Speaking on NBC's "Meet up with the Press," Klain explained: "Donald Trump's Twitter feed doesn't make Joe Biden president or perhaps not president. The American persons did that."

The decision by the overall Services Administration, headed by a Trump appointee, not to recognize Biden as president-elect has prevented Biden and his team from gaining usage of government office space and funding normally afforded to an incoming administration to make sure a smooth transition.

Without explicitly mentioning the transition, Trump praised the agency's administrator, Emily Murphy, writing on Twitter:"Congrats Emily!"

Klain said Murphy's agency must formally recognize Biden, saying it is critical to ensure the president-elect receives intelligence briefings before acquiring office also to facilitate coordination with the White House coronavirus task force. Klain urged Congress to pass bipartisan coronavirus relief legislation by year's end. Talks on such legislation possess stalled.

VACCINE CHALLENGE

Klain previously said a smooth transition was necessary to ensure the government was prepared to roll out a COVID-19 vaccine early on next year. Pfizer stated last week its vaccine candidate proved a lot more than 90% effective in initial trials, offering hope that widespread vaccination in the approaching months could help obtain the pandemic in order.

Other companies are also on advanced stages of developing promising vaccines.

"It's great to get a vaccine, but vaccines don't save lives. Vaccinations save lives," Klain said. "And which means you've got to get that vaccine into people's arms around this country."

The mechanics of manufacturing and distribution lie with the U.S. Department of Health insurance and Human Services, Klain added, rendering it very important to Biden's team in order to coordinate with current HHS officials.

Speaking on CNN's "State of the Union," Anthony Fauci, the most notable U.S. infectious diseases expert and a White House task force member, underscored the value of a smooth transition in pandemic control efforts.

"It will be better if we could start working with them," Fauci stated of coordination between the existing task force and Biden's team.

Fauci welcomed Klain's collection, saying he previously been"terrific" under ex - President Barack Obama in managing the U.S. response to a 2014 Ebola outbreak.

Biden's campaign said it had raised $10.5 million of its target of $30 million for a "Biden Struggle Fund" targeted at election defense efforts, relating to a fundraising plea delivered on Sunday.

A laborious hand recount is under way in Georgia, where Biden has been projected the winner and keeps a lead greater than 14,000 votes. Patrick Moore, a Biden campaign legal adviser, said the recount possessed up to now shifted vote totals "almost imperceptibly," and in Biden's favor, and there have been no proof widespread irregularities.

Control of the U.S. Senate will come to be determined by two January runoff elections in Georgia, which is very important to the fate of Biden's ambitious legislative agenda. Klain said Biden may campaign in Georgia ahead of the runoffs.