US election 2020: 16 days after Biden was declared President-elect, what is Trump up to?

On November 7, 2020 American networks declared Joe Biden the President-elect. 16 days in, and the incumbent president Donald Trump has not conceded.

On Sunday, Trump tweeted the following: “Joe Biden won in the eyes of the fake news media. I concede nothing. This was a rigged election".

How is Trump planning to cling on to the White House?

Part one of his plan to stay in power hinges on his base, of which we saw a glimpse on Sunday at his mega rally in Washington.

Thousands of the president's supporters were out in full force, which was dubbed as the “Million MAGA march”.

Much like Trump himself, these protesters have rejected the election results. They say that there is no president-elect, and that it's all a lie.

In some places these protests turned violent. A right-wing group “Proud boys” cashed with Antifa a far-left movement. One person was stabbed and taken to the trauma centre.

How is Trump doing in courts?

The Trump campaign filed a flurry of cases in swing states, starting with Pennsylvania which Biden won on November 7.

The Trump campaign immediately filed a lawsuit, alleging that around 680,000 ballots were illegally processed. It wanted these votes to be removed from the final tally. But that demand has now been dropped, making Trump's lawsuit in Pennsylvania effectively toothless.

Since election night - Trump has spent most of his time at his golf course. The White House has virtually stopped addressing the COVID-19 outbreak in the US. His administration is yet to ratify Biden's victory, which has delayed the transition process.

Joe Biden's team on the other hand - is eager to get cracking. The incoming Chief of Staff Ron Klain feels it's time that Biden and Harris start receiving intelligence briefings.

There is bipartisan criticism against what Trump is trying to do. Among the more vocal critiques has been Trump's predecessor - Barack Obama.

He is promoting his new memoir and Obama is not mincing his words. He said - nobody is above the law, whether it's a dog catcher, or a president.

“They obviously didn't think there was any fraud going on because they didn't say anything about it for the first two days. But there's damage to this because what happens is that the peaceful transfer of power, the notion that any of us who attain an elected office, whether it's a dogcatcher or a president, are servants of the people. It's a temporary job. We're not above the rules. We're not above the law. That's the essence of our democracy”, Obama said.

Obama is expecting a change in the prestige of the office with Biden at the helm.

However, Trump will not hand over the White House without a fight. This so-called “lameduck” period is leading up to the most messy presidential transition in American history.