US ELECTIONS | Fikile Mbalula defends ‘Trump will win the US elections’ prediction

November 9 2020 - 13:16

2020 US ELECTION: What you need to know right now

President-elect Joe Biden will convene a coronavirus task force on Monday to examine the number one problem confronting him when he takes office in January, while President Donald Trump pursues several long-shot gambits to hold on to his job.

• Biden's campaign on Sunday urged the Trump political appointee who heads the US General Services Administration to approve an official transition of power despite President Donald Trump's refusal to concede.
• Hundreds of supporters of President Donald Trump rallied in downtown Phoenix on Saturday to contest Joe Biden's election as US president, charging the media with conspiring to steal the election and calling the results a "coup".

—Reuters

November 9 2020 - 13:15

EXPLAINER | How and when will Trump leave office?

The US has a long history of peaceful transfers of power that is likely to continue despite President Donald Trump's attacks on the legitimacy of the election result, national security experts said.

Here is what to expect in the weeks and months to come.

Does Trump face deadline to leave office? 

Yes. The US presidential election is not formally over. Electors — party loyalists who typically pledge to support the candidate who gets the most votes in their state — will convene on December 14 to formally cast their votes.

The newly seated Congress accepts the results from the Electoral College on January 6. If Biden wins the Electoral College vote, as expected, he will be sworn in at noon on January 20 — a date set in the Constitution.

—Reuters

November 9 2020 - 13:11

President-elect Biden's hopes for Democratic agenda hang on Georgia runoffs

President-elect Joe Biden's hopes of enacting major Democratic priorities like expanding healthcare access, fighting climate change and providing more coronavirus aid are going to hang on a pair of US Senate races in Georgia in January.

Democrats fell short of their goal of taking a Senate majority and actually lost seats in the House of Representatives, making Republicans well positioned to block major Biden legislative initiatives.

That leaves Biden's party with the daunting task of trying to unseat two incumbent Republican senators in the traditionally Republican-leaning state, where Biden himself holds just a narrow lead over President Donald Trump as vote-counting continues.

—Reuters

November 9 2020 - 13:08

How Stacey Abrams paved the way for a Democratic victory in 'New Georgia'

After Democrat Joe Biden was declared the next US president on Saturday, thousands of celebrants massed outside the White House.

One part of the group broke out in a spontaneous chant that wasn't about Biden or his opponent Donald Trump, cheering: "Sta-CEY AAA-brams.....Sta-CEY AAA-brams."

Stacey Abrams, 46, a lawyer, entrepreneur, romance novelist and Georgia politician, became a national Democratic figurehead after losing a hard-fought governor's race in 2018 by just 55,000 votes. 

Now she is being lauded by Democrats, academics, voters and activists around the country for boosting Biden to victory.

—Reuters

November 9 2020 - 12:59

‘How did I lie?’ - Fikile Mbalula defends ‘Trump will win the US elections’ prediction

Transport minister Fikile Mbalula has defended his decision to declare Donald Trump would win the US elections last week, slamming suggestions that he misled his followers.

Fikile got the streets hot under the collar when he took to Twitter at the start of the US elections to predict Trump would pull off a victory.

“Trump will win the elections in the USA”, the minister wrote.

November 9 2020 - 12:17

Biden to launch Covid-19 task force, Trump plans rallies to protest election

President-elect Joe Biden will convene a coronavirus task force on Monday to examine the number one problem confronting him when he takes office in January, while President Donald Trump pursues several long-shot gambits to hold on to his job.

Biden is due to meet with an advisory board co-chaired by former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler and Yale University Associate Professor Marcella Nunez-Smith to examine how best to tame a pandemic that has killed more than 237,000 Americans.

The Democratic former vice president will then give remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, about his plans for tackling Covid-19 and rebuilding the economy.

—Reuters

November 9 2020 - 11:55

China holds off on sending congratulations to Biden

China, which has held off on congratulating US presidential election winner Joe Biden even as leaders of other countries have done so, said on Monday it would follow custom in responding to the result.

Democrat Biden clinched enough states to win the presidency but incumbent President Donald Trump has not conceded and is making legal challenges to the outcome of the November 3 election.

"We noticed that Mr. Biden has declared election victory," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a daily media briefing. "We understand that the US presidential election result will be determined following US law and procedures."

—Reuters

November 9 2020 - 10:15

'Did those African angels ever show up?': Twitter mocks prayer for Trump to win US elections

Paula White, spiritual adviser of outgoing US president Donald Trump, and “African angels” are trending on social media after Trump lost the US presidency to Democrat challenger and former vice-president Joe Biden.

Last week, White hosted a sermon during which she prayed for the re-election of Trump and called on angels from Africa and South America to intervene.

In the Facebook live sermon, White said the church would pray for Trump's win and against the “traps set” for him.

LISTEN | Donald Trump calls US elections a ‘major fraud

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