good morning. The Trump campaign dropped a central lawsuit in its legal challenge to the election outcome in Pennsylvania, which was a major part of Joe Biden’s victory. In the lead up to Tuesday’s hearing, the president’s legal team She withdrew her claim More than 680,000 absentee ballot papers were processed illegally without campaign representatives monitoring. Even so, the campaign team still hopes to prevent Pennsylvania, which has 20 electoral college votes, from confirming Biden’s victory.

Although the lawsuits go ahead, the president He wrote on Twitter on Sunday that Joe Biden had “won” the electionBut he insisted that it was only because the vote was “fraudulent” and in a follow-up I mentioned, “I am not giving up anything.” Nasreen Malik argues that although Trump’s post-election behavior sometimes seemed comical, it was Refusing to compromise is no laughing matter And it sets a dangerous precedent for the upcoming elections.

The incoherence and chaos plaguing Trump and his administration makes it hard for some to believe that they can do anything as organized as a coup. But if enough Republican lawmakers and enough Republican voters can be enacted to achieve this, Trump himself needs to do little.

• Five ways American democracy fails: Election revealed Deep imperfections In the country’s democratic system. Ed Pilkington explores five problems with American democracy, from the electoral college system to the appointment of judges.

Height Covid cases are pushing Trump into the corner

Democrats, senior Republicans and health experts are Trump urged allowing the transfer of power To start, amid a worrying spurt in coronavirus transmission that the United States has reached 11 million confirmed cases Sunday night. The most recent 1 million cases were recorded in less than a week.

While Biden’s transition team is expected to meet Pfizer, the company behind a vaccine against the Coronavirus at a 90% rate, Trump’s refusal to concede is hindering vaccine preparations and preventing Biden’s team from meeting with U.S. government health officials, including the White House task force against Corona Virus. .

Dr. Anthony Fauci, Senior Infectious Diseases Officer in the United States and member of the task force, Joined Calls For a smooth transition of power this weekend. Fauci also revealed that Trump had not attended any meetings of the Coronavirus Task Force “for several months.”

How Georgia Senate run-offs are ‘critical to America’s future’

In January, control of the Senate will be on the shoulders of two Democratic candidates in Georgia. If John Usoff and Raphael Warnock outwit their current Republican opponents, they would give Kamala Harris a crucial vote as vice president in a room divided 50-50. Although precarious, this should greatly improve Joe Biden’s chances of implementing his legislative agenda. In two separate interviews on Sunday, the two men said the contests were Crucial to the future of the United States. We’ll said:

Hundreds of thousands of lives hang in the balance, and millions of jobs, homes and livelihoods hang in the balance.

In other news …

• Biden has been urged to join a global treaty on plastic pollution “To correct the mistakes of the Trump era.” More than two-thirds of the UN member states have declared that they are open to New deal To tackle plastic pollution, but the largest producers of waste per capita, the United States and the United Kingdom, have yet to join.

• Trump is reportedly considering buying Newsmax, The right-wing news outlet who still refused to call the Biden elections – and then garnered the president’s support. The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump’s allies have thought Building a port to a Fox News competitorWho Trump has disagreed with in recent days over his refusal to support his unfounded allegations of voter fraud.

• Protesters were arrested in the elections in Washington Over the weekend, during Clashes between supporters of Trump And the opposition protesters about who is the legitimate winner in the elections. There were reports of a stabbing incident and two police officers were injured.

View from the right

Focusing on Trump and his refusal to waive the elections, Republicans throw off victories They could take from the presidential race, as Dan Hanan argues at the Washington Examiner today. The Republican Party has made gains in the House, is set to keep the Senate, and has more and more diverse support than it was in 2016 – but Trump’s behavior threatens to undermine all of this.

At best, their refusal to accept the presidential election result appears petty and ruthless and risks what should be two comfortable wins in Georgia’s Senate. At worst, it undermines the legitimacy of American institutions.

Do not miss this

Record numbers of young voters participated in the election and mobilized voters in the major swing states, helping Biden win. Now, they want the president-elect to return the favor with him Addressing the climate crisis Face to face, and they are ready to hold him accountable.

The last thing: Obama says “Michelle will leave me” to take on a cabinet role

Former President Barack Obama has ruled out a position in the Joe Biden government, saying that if he does, “Michelle will leave me.” Speaking to CBS Sunday Morning, Obama explained in detail The impact of his political life on his wife, Saying she conveyed exciting opportunities to make sure she can be around for the couple’s two daughters. “With my election, I was forced to give up a job that had a real impact on her role [as first lady] This – in its original design, at least – was too small for her gifts. “

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