Forgetful Joe? Biden said 2 months ago he 'wouldn't declare victory' until election was independently certified
President-elect Joe Biden, during the first presidential debate of the year, had reportedly pledged that he would not declare victory in the election before the results were "independently certified." The former vice president, during the debate, was asked by debate moderator and Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace whether he would not declare victory until the election was independently certified, and the Democrat had said "yes."
"Will you urge your supporters to stay calm while the vote is counted? And will you pledge not to declare victory until the election is independently certified?” Wallace asked, to which Biden responded with: "Yes."
"Here's the deal: We count the ballots. As you pointed out, some of these ballots in some states can't even be opened until Election Day," Biden said." And if there's thousands of ballots, [it’s] going to take time to do it.”
Despite his declaration during the first presidential debate, Biden delivered a public victory speech on Saturday night, November 7, claiming "a clear victory" as political rival President Trump's campaign filed a series of lawsuits against multiple states, claiming that their election process was fraudulent. The Republican and his campaign, however, did not provide any evidence to support their claims. Biden delivered his victory speech even before the General Services Administration officially “ascertained” the election results, which has still not been done as of Thursday evening, November 12.
The former vice president, during his victory speech on November 7, said: "The people of this nation have spoken. They delivered us a clear victory. A convincing victory. A victory for we the people. The most votes ever cast for a presidential ticket in the history of this nation."
However, at the time he delivered the speech, to millions of Trump supporters, the outcome of the presidential elections was not clear pending Trump campaign’s many legal challenges in key battleground states. In a closely-contested battle, days after the Election Day, multiple major media outlets, including Fox News, called the race for Biden. The Electoral College is reportedly expected to formalize Biden as President-elect on December 14, unless Trump prevails in court.
Federal elections officials and Biden's transition team have reportedly also called on the GSA to issue its ascertainment of the election results, in hopes that the official declaration would smoothen communications between the Trump administration and the former Vice President's team.
The national intelligence director’s office earlier this week issued a statement saying Biden would not receive national security information until President Trump concedes to him in the 2020 presidential election. The Presidential Transition Act of 1963 states that the General Services Administration should first ascertain the winner of the presidential election before providing intelligence briefing to the next administration. However, since Trump is contesting the results of the 2020 election, the Biden administration may face hurdles in the initiation process of the transition.
Intelligence agencies have routinely provided general intelligence briefings to presidential nominees since 1952. Former vice president Biden began receiving the briefings shortly after he was declared the presidential nominee of the Democratic party. The briefings, however, do not include information about covert operation, sources and methods. It is not yet clear if the President-elect has continued to receive the briefings after the election results.