It's been four days since the Associated Press and all major news outlets projected that President-elect Joe Biden would defeat President Donald Trump in the 2020 election after Biden won the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania, passing the 270 electoral vote threshold to take the White House.
As expected after a months-long smear campaign against the democratic process, the President and his team are denying the results and refusing to concede, launching lawsuits across the country with baseless claims of widespread voter fraud.
Trump's refusal to concede has threatened faith in the integrity of United States elections and the peaceful transfer of power.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo only added to these concerns with a quip he made at a recent press briefing.
Watch below.
Sec. of State Pompeo outright denies the election results: 'There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration' pic.twitter.com/ZWlBTxWjkh
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) November 10, 2020
Pompeo said:
"There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration. We're ready. ... The world should have every confidence that the transition necessary to make sure that the State Department is functional today, successful today, and successful with the President who's in office on January 20th, a minute after noon will also be successful."
Pompeo wrote off his comment about a "second Trump administration" as a joke, but he was the only one laughing.
Early this year, Pompeo had a discussion with NPR host Mary Louise Kelly about the ousted ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, who testified at Trump's impeachment hearings in the House.
The conversation between Kelly and Pompeo quickly went off the rails, with Pompeo berating her and demanding that she point out Ukraine on a map, which she successfully did.
Kelly responded to Pompeo's comments about a second Trump administration with a throwback to the highly publicized private conversation.
While January may seem like eons ago after the chaos that is 2020, politicos on Twitter were thrilled by the comeback.
Meanwhile, Pompeo's refusal to acknowledge the results of the 2020 election has people concerned.
Pompeo is set to visit France, Turkey, Georgia, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia this month. All of these countries' leaders have expressed congratulations to President-elect Biden on his victory.
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