A top adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to admit Monday there is little chance the president will be declared the winner in this month’s presidential election, even though he and other key aides are still hoping for a second term.
"Look, if the Biden-Harris ticket is determined to be the winner, obviously things look that way now, we'll have a very professional transition from the National Security Council,” White House National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien told the virtual Global Security Forum. “There's no question about it."
“The great thing is the United States of America, we pass the baton and have peaceful, successful transitions even in the most contentious periods," O’Brien added.
O’Brien’s comments came as Trump continued to insist on social media that the election was rigged and that he should be declared the victor over former vice president Joe Biden, whom news networks projected as the winner on November 7.
“The Radical Left Democrats, working with their partner, the Fake News Media, are trying to STEAL this Election. We won’t let them!” he tweeted, shortly before O’Brien’s remarks.
The Radical Left Democrats, working with their partner, the Fake News Media, are trying to STEAL this Election. We won’t let them!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 16, 2020
“I won the Election!” he added in another tweet earlier Monday, while questioning the veracity of an ongoing recount of votes in the state of Georgia in a third.
I won the Election!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 16, 2020
Twitter labeled all three tweets, “disputed.”
But O’Brien, Monday, sounded a more conciliatory note.
"If there is a new administration, they deserve some time to come in and implement their policies," he said. "They're going to have very professional folks that are coming in to take these positions, many of whom have been here before.”
O’Brien also expressed hope that a Biden presidency would build on some of Trump’s accomplishments, especially the Abraham Accords between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
"I hope that if the current lawsuits don't work out for the president and President [elect] Biden becomes the next president, I really hope that a Biden-Harris administration is going to pursue the Abraham Accords," he told the online forum.
“There are a number of other countries that are teed up to join," he said, calling the accords a “great legacy” for Trump.
The Trump campaign has been pursuing a series of lawsuits, contesting thousands of ballots in key swing states. But on Sunday, it dropped a key part of a suit in Pennsylvania and is now contesting only a few hundred ballots in a state Biden is projected to win by more than 60,000 votes.
The president himself also has continued to push public claims of voter fraud and other irregular activity, though he and his supporters have failed to produce evidence to back them up.
Trump on Sunday appeared to acknowledge Biden’s victory, but tweeted, Biden “won because the Election was Rigged” and that Biden “only won in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA.”
“I concede NOTHING!” he added.