Trump releases video slamming 'rigged' polls as he eyes 2024 run

WASHINGTON • US President Donald Trump has released a 46-minute videotaped speech in which he denounces what he called a "rigged" election, a day after his own attorney-general joined election officials across the country in attesting to his defeat.

Mr Trump recorded what he said "may be the most important speech I've ever made" in the Diplomatic Room of the White House on Wednesday, delivering it behind a lectern with the presidential seal. He then posted a two-minute version on Twitter, with a link to the full version on his Facebook page.

He once again refused to concede defeat in his bid for re-election a month after polling day, repeating a long list of assertions about voter fraud and accusing Democrats of a conspiracy to steal the presidency.

Twitter quickly labelled the post "disputed", while Facebook added a note to say that President-elect Joe Biden, who received almost 81 million votes and 306 electoral votes, is the projected winner of the election.

The video, which a White House official said was recorded last week, was the in-person embodiment of Mr Trump's staccato tweets over the past three weeks about voting irregularities in swing states, attacks on state officials and signature verifications, and accusations against Democrats.

The President's assertions in the video were drastically undercut on Tuesday, when Attorney-General William Barr told The Associated Press that despite inquiries by the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, "to date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election".

At the end of the video, Mr Trump described himself as the defender of America's election system, saying he had been told that the single most important accomplishment of his presidency would be protecting the integrity of the voting system.

It was unclear why Mr Trump waited until Wednesday to release the video. But he made it public after a series of rebukes by members of his own party, who have increasingly abandoned him as he refuses to acknowledge the results of the election.

The President's legal team, led by his personal lawyer, Mr Rudy Giuliani, has lost dozens of lawsuits in courts across the country while making wild allegations without any proof to back them up.

Mr Trump himself has remained shuttered in the White House since the election, limiting his public appearances and apparently holding few official meetings.

But according to media reports, he is preparing his exit, holding discussions about issuing preemptive pardons for his three adult children - Donald Jr, Eric and Ivanka - and for Ivanka's husband Jared Kushner, as well as his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

Some of the President's key Republican allies on Capitol Hill and elsewhere have urged him to move on in recent days.

Mr Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican and the Senate majority leader, who has been conspicuously silent about Mr Trump's claims, finally referred this week to the "new administration" that would be taking over next year, a clear signal to Mr Trump that his time in office was coming to an end.

The real estate tycoon faces the challenge of losing the centre of attention, and his grip on the Republican Party, as Washington turns to the Biden administration.

But Mr Trump retains the support of a core group of voters who quickly responded to his latest attack on the election. Within a few hours, his tweet had been "liked" by almost 134,000 Twitter users and his Facebook video had been shared 93,000 times.

The enduring support may be one of the reasons that Mr Trump is openly musing about a second run at the US presidency in 2024, suggesting at a White House Christmas party on Tuesday that he might have lost this battle, but would not retire quietly as a one-term president.

"It's been an amazing four years. We are trying to do another four years. Otherwise, I'll see you in four years," he told guests.

According to NBC News, Mr Trump has discussed with his close aides the possibility of launching his 2024 campaign on Jan 20, the day Mr Biden is to be inaugurated as president.

In theory, nothing prevents another run. The US Constitution restricts presidents to two four-year terms, but does not require that they be consecutive.

But only one president has done so: Grover Cleveland, in the late 19th century.

NYTIMES, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE