Downing Street today refused to say that all US ballots should be counted after Donald Trump cried foul in the election.
A spokesman for Boris Johnson dodged all questions about the knife-edge contest between Mr Trump and Joe Biden, saying it was a matter for the ‘relevant authorities’.
The evasion came after the President delivered an extraordinary condemnation of the conduct of the election, demanding a halt on counting of mail-in ballots.
Despite the tough language, Mr Biden appears to be closing in on victory, taking the lead in Pennsylvania and a slender advantage in Georgia.
But Mr Trump has vowed not to accept the final results, and his own children are telling his supporters to ‘fight to the death’.
A spokesman for Boris Johnson dodged all questions about the knife-edge contest between Donald Trump (right) and Joe Biden (left), saying it was a matter for the ‘relevant authorities’
Asked repeatedly if the UK wanted the count to continue, a spokesman for Boris Johnson (pictured in Westminster today) said: ‘That is a matter for the US.’
In a statement this morning, his campaign team said the election was ‘far from over’. They said it was a ‘false projection’ that Biden would win.
Mr Trump’s reluctance to accept the outcome poses an unprecedented scenario for the country and the world.
It will make Biden’s transition to power, should he win enough electoral college votes, more difficult.
Many networks refused to air Mr Trump’s speech last night.
ABC, CBS and NBC cut away from the press conference before it finished, warning their viewers that Trump had made ‘a number of false statements’ that needed clarifying.
MSNBC was the first to cut away, as anchor Brian Williams warned ‘here we go again’. Fox News and CNN covered it in full.
In a series of tweets sent at 2.30am, Trump continued his tirade – attacking social media regulation, making baseless claims of fraud, casting doubt over several close Senate races, and calling on the Supreme Court to intervene.
Asked whether the UK had seen any evidence of election fraud in the US, the PM’s deputy spokesman said: ‘We have confidence in the checks and balances of the US system. The count is ongoing. You wouldn’t expect us to speculate on the outcome.
‘It is important that the US electoral process is given time to reach a conclusion. We are of course watching closely.’
Asked repeatedly if the UK wanted the count to continue, the spokesman said: ‘That is a matter for the US.’
He added: ‘The electoral process is a matter for the relevant US authorities and we have confidence in the checks and balances of the US system.’
In contrast, Irish premier Micheal Martin has said that every vote in the US presidential race should be counted.
‘Every vote should be counted and has to be counted,’ the Taoiseach told Sky News.
‘I admire what is happening and I have watched it with great interest over the last number of days, the organisation of the vote and the attention to detail and the affirmation by those responsible for the counts that every thing possible is being done to ensure the integrity of the vote.
‘I think it is worth watching and it’s very important that, as broadcasters have stressed, the need to count every vote and make every vote count.’
Having narrowly won the swing states of Wisconsin and Michigan, Mr Biden has more routes to the White House open to him – with Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina yet to be called.
A win in Pennsylvania would hand him the presidency even if all the other states go to Trump. Holding his lead in Arizona and Nevada would also hand him the win.
Meanwhile Trump needs most of the outstanding states to go his way to stand a chance of winning.
Biden also gave a speech early this morning calling for calm and patience while the votes are counted, insisting once again that when the dust has settled he will have beaten Mr Trump.
‘Democracy is sometimes messy. It sometimes requires a little patience as well,’ the former vice president said.