Election winner Joe Biden wants to get to work, but the US President continues to block - and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo annoyed with a ruling about a "second Trump administration".
After his
election victory in the USA,
Joe Biden
set about
taking over the business of government.
Among other things, the US Democrat spoke to
German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) on the
phone
.
When
asked about
the behavior of his predecessor
Donald Trump
, his tone became sharp.
Washington - The
newly elected US President
Joe Biden has
described incumbent
Donald Trump's
refusal to
recognize the election result
as an
"embarrassment"
.
The victorious US Democrat stressed on Tuesday that he was preparing to take over government business despite Trump's lack of cooperation.
Among other things, Biden made phone calls with
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU)
and other EU heads of state and government.
At his first press conference since his
election victory
, Biden was
asked about
Trump's behavior
.
"I honestly think it's an embarrassment," said the 77-year-old in his hometown of Wilmington.
"How can I tactfully say this: I think it won't help the president's legacy."
Biden after the US election in 2020: "We are already starting the transition"
At the same time, Biden stressed that he was preparing to
take over the official business
regardless of the lack of cooperation from the Trump administration
.
"We are already starting the transition," said the former vice president.
"The fact that they don't want to acknowledge that we won doesn't have much of an impact on our plans right now."
The "dynamics" of change are unbroken.
Biden said he is
not
currently planning
any legal remedies
to force the Trump administration to work with his transition team.
The 77-year-old also emphasized that he would be "happy" to talk to Trump.
Biden was proclaimed the winner of the November 3rd presidential election by major US broadcasters on Saturday.
He is due to be sworn in as the 46th President in US history on January 20.
Until then, Trump's term of office runs.
Pompeo statement irritates: "Smooth" transfer of power to "second Trump administration"?
Trump does not recognize Biden's victory.
He speaks of
alleged electoral fraud
and wants to contest the result with legal means.
So far there has been no evidence of major irregularities in the choice.
Most recently,
Attorney General Bill Barr gave
federal attorneys the green light to investigate the fraud allegations.
Critics accuse the Trump confidante of trying to give the president's allegations more credibility.
While numerous heads of state and government from around the world have already congratulated Biden, the Trump camp has refused to take this step.
The government has also so far refused to prepare a handover of official business and to work with Biden's transition team.
A change of government in the USA requires enormous preparation.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo raised
eyebrows on Tuesday when he said there would be a "smooth" transfer of power - to a
"second Trump administration"
.
The sentence was probably meant as a joke, but again made clear the resistance of the conservatives against Biden.
The election winner jokingly said that many of the Republicans were apparently "slightly intimidated by the incumbent president."
(AFP / frs)
* Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital editorial network.
