Trump refuses to concede as Biden calls for healing in victory speech

US President Donald Trump has refused to concede defeat after his Democrat rival Joe Biden was declared the winner of the highly controversial US election, insisting that he will carry on with his legal challenges as the president-elect called for unity and healing in his victory speech.

Following the declaration that Biden won the race, Trump and his allies suggested that he does not plan to concede anytime soon.

“The simple fact is this election is far from over. Joe Biden has not been certified as the winner of any states, let alone any of the highly contested states headed for mandatory recounts, or states where our campaign has valid and legitimate legal challenges that could determine the ultimate victor,” Trump said.

Also when Biden clinched the victory on Saturday, Trump was out golfing at the Trump National Golf Club in Virginia.

The president then headed back to the White House, but his motorcade drove past Biden's supporters celebrating his loss outside his golf course, on the streets, on the side of the highway, and on overpasses.

There were also people elsewhere along his motorcade route, waiting for him to pass by on the way back to the White House

They were holding signs saying "BYE DON" and "YOU LOSE & WE ALL WIN," as well as Biden–Harris flags.

Biden calls for healing in appeal to Trump voters

Meanwhile, Biden, in his first speech following his win, said it was "time to heal" a deeply divided nation.

"The people of this nation have spoken. They have delivered us a clear victory, a convincing victory," Biden told honking and cheering supporters in a parking lot in his home town of Wilmington, Delaware.

"For all those of you who voted for President Trump, I understand the disappointment tonight. I've lost a couple times myself. But now, let's give each other a chance. It's time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again, listen to each other again," he said.

The president-elect also thanked Black voters, saying, "They always have my back, and I'll have yours."

Meanwhile, Trumps campaign said it has filed a lawsuit in Arizona, claiming that the Southwestern state’s most populous county incorrectly rejected votes some voters cast on Election Day.

According to the lawsuit lodged in state Superior Court in Maricopa County on Saturday, poll workers asked some voters to press a button after a machine had detected an “overvote.”

The campaign alleged that decision disregarded voters’ choices in those races, contending new voting machines were employed on Election Day on Tuesday.

The suit suggested that those votes might prove “determinative” in the outcome of the race between Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden, who became president-elect of the United States on Saturday.

Biden currently leads Trump by 0.65%, or just over 21,000 votes in Arizona.

Joe Biden elected 46th president of the United States

Joe Biden becomes the 46th president of the United States after winning the pivotal state of Pennsylvania.

The lawsuit, which cited declarations by some poll observers and two voters who claimed the problem resulted in rejected votes, seeks an order that would require a manual review of purportedly overvoted ballots cast in-person.

It also asks a judge to ban the certification of the vote until the completion of the review, which it says may “yield up to thousands of additional votes for” Trump.

Meanwhile, Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs has rejected the lawsuit, whose plaintiffs are the Arizona state Republican party and the Republican National Committee.

“This is just a stalling tactic to delay the official canvass,” Hobbs said in a statement through her spokeswoman. “They are grasping at straws.”

Also on Saturday, a group of voters dropped a lawsuit claiming some votes cast for Trump were not counted in Maricopa County because voters used Sharpie pens.

Last year, the county, which includes Arizona’s biggest city, Phoenix, rolled out new tabulation equipment making Sharpie pens the best option on Election Day as they have the fastest drying ink, Megan Gilbertson, the Maricopa County Elections Department’s communications director, said earlier this week.

Hobbs’ spokeswoman also said that they “are reviewing it (the latest lawsuit) now, but it appears to be a repackaging of the ‘Sharpiegate’ lawsuit. Hopefully, this puts the matter to rest for good.”

The Trump campaign has already filed multiple lawsuits --several of which have been thrown out -- as part of a coordinated effort to call the validity of the election into question.

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