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President Donald Trump has fired the director of the federal agency that vouched for the reliability of the 2020 election and pushed back on the president’s claims of voter fraud. Trump fired Christopher Krebs in a tweet on Tuesday, saying Krebs “has been terminated” and that his recent statement defending the security of the election was “highly inaccurate”.
The US attorney general, William Barr, has authorized federal prosecutors to begin investigating “substantial allegations” of voter irregularities across the country in a stark break with longstanding practice and despite a lack of evidence of any major fraud having been committed. Barr wrote on Monday to US attorneys, giving them the green light to pursue “substantial allegations of voting and vote tabulation irregularities.”
US President-elect Joe Biden is to make tackling the coronavirus pandemic his top priority following his win over Donald Trump, his team says. Announcing the first steps in his transition plan, his team said there would be more testing and Americans would be asked to wear masks. On Monday, Mr Biden is expected to name a 12-member coronavirus task force.
Protesters have taken to the streets across the US to demand officials “count every vote” amid efforts by the Trump campaign to stop the democratic process. Demonstrations were organized by voters on both sides in cities such as Detroit, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Minnesota. While most were Biden supporters trying to resist claims by the Trump camp that counting should be stopped, Republican supporters made similar calls in states they have lost or are trailing behind.
Donald Trump and Joe Biden each claim to be ahead in the US presidential election, even as the final outcome hangs on a razor’s edge and both sides gear up for legal action. The Trump campaign is challenging vote counts in the key states of Wisconsin, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Winning all three of these Rust Belt states would hand Mr Biden victory.
The outcome of the US presidential election is on a knife edge, with Donald Trump and his rival Joe Biden neck and neck in key swing states. Mr Trump, a Republican, claimed to have won and vowed to launch a Supreme Court challenge, baselessly alleging fraud. Earlier Mr Biden, a Democrat, said he was “on track” to victory. With the nation on edge, the final result may not be known for days.
Defiant to the last, President Donald Trump has made a final bid to save his presidency with a midnight rally in battleground Michigan where, sporting a red “Make America great again” cap, he predicted “one of the greatest wins in the history of politics”. Joe Biden, tweeted a warning: “If we give Donald Trump another four years in the White House, he will forever alter the character of our nation. We can’t let that happen.”
Donald Trump and Joe Biden have been traveling across the nation as the US election race enters its final hours. Republican President Trump, 74, visited five battleground states while his 77-year-old Democratic challenger spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania, where the race also looks tight. Mr Biden, a former vice-president, has a healthy national lead in the latest polls ahead of Tuesday’s election.
US President Donald Trump and his White House challenger Joe Biden clashed over Covid and race while trading corruption charges, in their final live TV debate. On the pandemic, Mr Biden would not rule out more lockdowns, while Mr Trump insisted it was time to reopen the US. Mr Trump cited unsubstantiated claims Mr Biden personally profited from his son’s business dealings. The Democrat brought up Mr Trump’s opaque taxes.
US national security officials say Iran was responsible for sending threatening emails to Democratic voters ahead of next month’s presidential election. The emails appeared to come from a far-right pro-Trump group and were meant to “incite unrest”, National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe said. Mr Ratcliffe also said US officials found Iran and Russia had obtained “some voter registration information”.