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.
Might Pompeo point us to a state on the map where there's evidence of widespread voter fraud? https://t.co/Hg6hcO8wGO— Mary Louise Kelly (@Mary Louise Kelly) 1605035070.0
While January may seem like eons ago after the chaos that is 2020, politicos on Twitter were thrilled by the comeback.
A+ callback. https://t.co/usW579yTBB https://t.co/8nWxdjhmPx— Franklin Leonard (@Franklin Leonard) 1605035299.0
Mic drop. https://t.co/HxYie7RF1q— Scott Simon (@Scott Simon) 1605103579.0
That sound you hear is Mary Louise dropping a mic and then stomping on it and then setting it on fire and then doin… https://t.co/J1Hq4xQere— Danielle Kurtzleben (@Danielle Kurtzleben) 1605035468.0
Mary has waited a long time to tweet this and...worth it. 👏👏👏 https://t.co/O0N7r11rDb— Wajahat "Not Fasting" Ali (@Wajahat "Not Fasting" Ali) 1605037237.0
This is a masterpiece. #WhereIsUkraine #RightHereJerk https://t.co/AVFdHpuuOI— V. Serreno (@V. Serreno) 1605102042.0
Meanwhile, Pompeo's refusal to acknowledge the results of the 2020 election has people concerned.
It was a disloyal/disrespectful/unpatriotic thing for Pompeo to say. It was a statement literally designed to under… https://t.co/86cw9IHf46— Glenn Kirschner (@Glenn Kirschner) 1605101123.0
Pompeo has total disregard & hostility for the most precious tenets of democracy...He outright denied US’ election… https://t.co/bIYriSxJDn— Rula Jebreal (@Rula Jebreal) 1605115164.0
I know it was like 10 news cycles ago, but this is why it's stupid to just laugh off Mike Pompeo's statements yeste… https://t.co/SyTRGNlcRa— G. Elliott Morris (@G. Elliott Morris) 1605105127.0
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.