Trump slams Mitch McConnell for congratulating Biden, pleads it's 'too soon to give up'

(Image credit: Rod Lamkey-Pool/Getty Images)

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) finally acknowledged Tuesday that President-elect Joe Biden won the presidency on Nov. 3, congratulating Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on the Senate floor. More than 12 hours later, at 12:41 a.m., President Trump responded in a tweet that started with a third-person assertion that his allies are criticizing McConnell for congratulating Biden, then shifts to a plea that it's "too soon to give up." Trump has not publicly acknowledged his loss.

After the Electoral College certified Biden's decisive win Monday, Senate Republicans started acknowledging his victory, culminating with McConnell's congratulations. Trump believed up until the end that Republican state legislators would step in and upend the Electoral College and the will of the voters to overturn Biden's victory, Axios reports. He's now "depressed at the realization that his backers have given up on 2020," insisting he won by pointing at his pollster John McLaughlin's prediction that if he won more than 70,000 votes, he would be re-elected. Trump won 74.2 million votes, according to the latest tally, while Biden won 81.3 million.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.