After certified electoral loss, Trump issues statement pledging an 'orderly transition on Jan. 20'

Pence and Pelosi certify Biden wins
(Image credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Right after Congress formally certified President-elect Joe Biden's 306-232 Electoral College victory early Thursday morning, President Trump issued a statement saying that while he "totally" disagrees with the outcome of the election, "nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on Jan. 20."

Trump has spent weeks denying Biden's victory and suggesting he and Republican allies could somehow overturn his loss, and this is the first time Trump has conceded publicly that he will leave office. Trump's statement went on to call this "the end of the greatest first term in presidential history" and "only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Peter Weber, The Week US

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.