Trump walks back tweet saying Biden ‘won’ election

President Trump on Sunday walked back a tweet in which he said President-elect Joe Biden “won” the election while continuing to spread unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about a rigged presidential election. 

“He won because the Election was Rigged. NO VOTE WATCHERS OR OBSERVERS allowed, vote tabulated by a Radical Left privately owned company, Dominion, with a bad reputation & bum equipment that couldn’t even qualify for Texas (which I won by a lot!), the Fake & Silent Media, & more!” Trump initially tweeted in response to a clip from Fox News’s Jesse Watters.

He won because the Election was Rigged. NO VOTE WATCHERS OR OBSERVERS allowed, vote tabulated by a Radical Left privately owned company, Dominion, with a bad reputation & bum equipment that couldn’t even qualify for Texas (which I won by a lot!), the Fake & Silent Media, & more! https://t.co/Exb3C1mAPg

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2020

“All of the mechanical ‘glitches’ that took place on Election Night were really THEM getting caught trying to steal votes. They succeeded plenty, however, without getting caught,” the president added in a subsequent tweet. “Mail-in elections are a sick joke!”

All of the mechanical “glitches” that took place on Election Night were really THEM getting caught trying to steal votes. They succeeded plenty, however, without getting caught. Mail-in elections are a sick joke!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2020

However, Trump said in a tweet later Sunday morning that his earlier post was not meant as a concession. 

“He only won in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA. I concede NOTHING!” the president wrote. “We have a long way to go. This was a RIGGED ELECTION!”

He only won in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA. I concede NOTHING! We have a long way to go. This was a RIGGED ELECTION!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2020

The hashtag #TrumpConceded was trending after the president’s first post.

The tweets, like many of the president’s recent posts about the election, were flagged by Twitter as containing disputed claims about election fraud. The president has repeatedly falsely claimed that observers were barred during the vote counting process, and the campaign’s legal challenges have not claimed the software used in tabulating the votes affected the outcome.

Biden was projected the winner of the election by major media outlets more than a week ago after they declared him the winner in Pennsylvania. Since then, the former vice president has also been projected the winner of Georgia and Arizona.

Trump has thus far refused to acknowledge Biden’s victory, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying last week the department would “transition to a second Trump administration.”

The president last Friday did acknowledge at least the possibility of a Biden administration while discussing the coronavirus pandemic.

“This administration will not be going to a lockdown. Hopefully the — the, whatever happens in the future, who knows which administration it will be, I guess time will tell, but I can tell you this administration will not go to a lockdown,” Trump said.

Numerous Republicans, while treating the outcome of the election as still in doubt, have called for Biden to begin receiving presidential daily briefings amid the Trump administration’s efforts to delay the start of the transition.

Updated at 12:02 p.m.