Former US President Barack Obama has said it’s “absolutely” time for President Donald Trump to concede the election – and that he should have already done so.
Obama told CBS’ 60 Minutes programme that he should have conceded defeat to Joe Biden “the day after the election” and it was time for America’s outgoing leader to “put the country first”.
“When your time is up then it’s your job to put the country first and think beyond your own ego and your own interests, and your own disappointments,” said Obama.
“My advice to President Trump is, if you want at this late stage in the game to be remembered as somebody who put country first, it’s time for you to do the same thing,” the Democrat continued.
When asked if it was time for Trump to concede, he said: “It is, absolutely. I think it was time for him to concede probably the day after the election.”
Obama also criticised the high-profile Republicans who have gone along with Trump’s unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud.
“I’m more troubled by the fact that other Republican officials, who clearly know better are going along with this, are humouring him in this fashion,” he said.
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“It is one more step in delegitimising not just the incoming Biden administration, but democracy generally. And that’s a dangerous path.”
On Trump’s election fraud theories, he said: “The president doesn’t like to lose and never admits loss.”
BizWatchNigeria recalls that earlier on Sunday, Trump admitted for the first time that President-elect Biden “won” the US election – but quickly made clear he wasn’t conceding.
He made the original admission in a tweet along with more unfounded claims the vote was unfairly and deliberately stacked against him.
Last week, Trump became the first president since 1992 to fail to get re-elected, following projections Biden had successfully flipped the key states of Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia to win the White House.
Biden so far has 78.8m votes, the most ever by a winning candidate, to Trump’s 73.1m.
