Summary

  • Donald Trump gives his first public speech since losing the US presidential election

  • The president, who is yet to concede, largely avoids referring to the vote

  • His speech focuses on the US response to coronavirus, with the president hailing an "incredible effort"

  • The US is confronting a fresh surge of coronavirus going into the winter, with hospital admissions soaring in many states

  • Joe Biden is projected to win Georgia, while Trump takes North Carolina

  • The final tally gives Biden 306 votes in the electoral college system to Trump's 232

  • The margin of victory is exactly the same as when Trump won in 2016

  • Biden's transition team demand that the Trump administration allow access to daily classified security briefings

  1. Thanks for joining uspublished at 00:09 Greenwich Mean Time 14 November 2020

    We're wrapping up our live coverage for now, but here's a reminder of the day's top stories:

    • The final two states have been called, with Biden taking Georgia and Trump winning in North Carolina
    • The result gives Biden a victory of 306 electoral college votes to Trump's 232 - far more than the 270 needed to secure the presidency
    • Trump spoke in public for the first time since losing the US election. During the coronavirus briefing, he refused to answer questions from the press but at one point appeared to acknowledge the possibility that there could be another administration
    • But Trump is still refusing to concede, and has said he will try to drop by a march by his supporters in Washington DC tomorrow
    • Biden's transition team is demanding access to security briefings
    • Coronavirus cases in the country continue to rise, with a record number of infections reported again on Friday

    Today's live coverage was brought to you by our teams in London and the US. Our writers were: George Wright, Holly Honderich, Toby Luckhurst and Victoria Bisset.

    The page was edited by Boer Deng and Tom Spender.

  2. Secret Service agents hit by Covid-19published at 23:55 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November 2020

    Secret Service men walking with their gear in Washington DCImage source, EPA
    Image caption,

    The US Secret Service is charged with protecting the nation's leaders

    US media are reporting that dozens of Secret Service officers have either tested positive for or are isolating due to exposure to coronavirus.

    The Washington Post reported that the number could be as high as 130 agents. ABC News reports the majority are quarantining due to possible exposure and have not themselves tested positive.

    US Secret Service members are charged with protecting the nation's leaders and visiting foreign dignitaries. In total there are about 7,000 people in the service.

    Those said to be isolating are from the Uniformed Division, who worked at election events checking bags. They are separate from those agents who protect the president and president-elect.

    An official told ABC News that all agents who worked on the campaign trail during the election are now being tested.

  3. Biden virus advisers reject national lockdown ideapublished at 23:33 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November 2020

    People wait outside a testing centre in FloridaImage source, EPA
    Image caption,

    Cases are soaring across the US

    Two health experts advising the president-elect have rejected the idea of a national US lockdown to halt the rise in coronavirus cases.

    Celine Gounder told CNBC on Friday they supported "targeted" measures against businesses, like shutting bars, gyms and restaurants.

    "Really the consensus is that we need a more nuanced approach," she said. "We've learned a lot since the spring, and we can be much more targeted geographically, and we can also be more targeted in terms of what we close."

    Vivek Murthy, who helps head Biden's coronavirus task force, agreed.

    "We've got to be more targeted. If we don't do that, what you're going to find is that people will become even more fatigued, schools won't be open to children and the economy will be hit harder."

    The US reported another record high of 153,496 new infections on Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University, as well as 919 deaths.

    Daily cases have topped 100,000 for the last 10 days and over 67,000 people are currently in hospital.

  4. Federal investigators ask Barr to rescind election memopublished at 23:18 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November 2020

    William BarrImage source, Reuters

    US Attorney General William Barr earlier this week issued an unusual memo allowing federal prosecutors to probe alleged election irregularities if there are "clear and apparently-credible allegations" that "could potentially impact the outcome of a federal election in an individual State".

    On Friday, a group of 16 assistant US attorneys ordered to monitor the 2020 election asked Barr to rescind the memo, the Washington Post reports. They told Barr that his order "thrusts career prosecutors into partisan politics", the newspaper said.

    Moreover, they said they had seen zero evidence of the sort of fraud Barr's memo highlighted.

    Top justice department official Richard Pilger quit earlier this after the release of Barr's memo.

  5. New York 'ready to sue' if Trump delays Covid-19 vaccinepublished at 23:04 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November 2020

    Letitia JamesImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    New York attorney general Letitia James

    The attorney general of New York, Letitia James, has said she is ready to sue the Trump administration if the state does not receive an approved Covid-19 vaccine along with the rest of the country.

    Speaking earlier today, Trump had said that vaccines would be available throughout the US with the exception of New York, alleging that this was because Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, was delaying the delivery.

    Cuomo "will have to let us know when he’s ready for it because otherwise, we can’t be delivering it to a state that won’t be giving it to its people immediately,” Trump said.

    In September, the New York governor set up an independent science panel to review Covid-19 vaccine data analysed by the Food and Drug Administration.

    James criticised Trump's comments.

    "This is nothing more than vindictive behavior by a lame-duck president trying to extract [sic] vengeance on those who oppose his politics," she said.

    "If dissemination of the vaccine takes place in the twilight of a Trump Administration and the president wants to play games with people’s lives, we will sue and we will win.”

  6. Jill Biden: From Second to First Ladypublished at 22:51 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November 2020

    Jill Biden will soon be making history as the first First Lady to hold a job while in the White House. Here's a look at who America's next first lady is - from educator to her husband's defender and more.

    Jill BidenImage source, Getty Images
  7. The moment Trump mentioned the electionpublished at 22:36 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November 2020

    He still hasn't admitted defeat. But when speaking about the coronavirus and whether or not there would be a US lockdown, President Trump admitted for the first time something had definitely changed.

    "This administration will not be going to a lockdown. Hopefully 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."

    Media caption,

    President Trump: 'Who knows which administration it will be'

  8. How much credit can Trump take for Pfizer's vaccine?published at 22:29 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November 2020

    Reality Check

    After positive results from the Pfizer and BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine trial were announced, Vice-President Mike Pence, external tweeted that the “HUGE NEWS” was “thanks to the public-private partnership forged by President Donald Trump”.

    He repeated that praise for the president today in the Rose Garden. Trump himself also touted the government's success.

    But the extent of US government involvement – as part of Operation Warp Speed, its effort to speed up vaccine development – is up for debate.

    Unlike the other leading candidate vaccines being produced in the US, Pfizer did not receive any upfront funding from Operation Warp Speed for research and development. This point was stressed by Pfizer’s Head of Vaccine R&D Kathrin Jensen in an interview with the New York Times, external.

    “We were never part of the Warp Speed,” she said. “We have never taken any money from the US government, or from anyone.”

    In July, the US government announced it would purchase a first batch of 100m doses of the vaccine, external at a cost of nearly $2bn following approval. But they’re not the only ones. Several other countries have orders for the Pfizer vaccine:

    • UK: 40m doses, with 10m due before end of 2020
    • Japan: 120m doses
    • EU: 200m doses, possibly rising to 300m (still being negotiated)
  9. Trump leaves without taking questionspublished at 22:20 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November 2020

    Donald Trump stands inside the White House after leaving the briefingImage source, Reuters

    Trump and his team have wrapped up the coronavirus briefing, with the president leaving the podium without responding to any questions shouted by reporters.

    Here's a summary of what was else was said:

    • Trump said his coronavirus response programme, Operation Warp Speed, was "unequalled and unrivaled" in its achievements at helping to develop vaccines and treatments for coronavirus.
    • The president said millions of doses would be available for vulnerable Americans as soon as next month throughout the country, but could not resist taking a political swipe at New York governor Andrew Cuomo, saying the treatments would not be available there because the Democrat had expressed doubt about safety
    • The leaders of his coronavirus team gave an optimistic outlook on the development of the Pfizer vaccine, which earlier this week announced an effectiveness rate of 90%. They also said another vaccine candidate, developed by Moderna, appeared to be promising, and that other therapeutics were still in the pipeline
    • Vice-President Mike Pence acknowledged the rise in coronavirus cases, which this week reached record levels.
  10. Doubts creep inpublished at 21:58 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November 2020

    Anthony Zurcher
    BBC North America reporter

    Donald Trump may not be willing to concede the election yet, but in his press event from the White House Rose Garden, some doubt about the ultimate outcome appears to be creeping in.

    After pledging that his administration would not order lockdowns to control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, he added: “Whatever happens in the future, who knows which administration it will be? I guess time will tell.”

    As the days go by, and the president’s legal challenges to Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory are either dropped or batted away by courts, Donald Trump’s time as president is heading towards an end.

  11. Trump: 'Who knows which administration it'll be'published at 21:47 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November 2020

    Donald Trump speaking in the Rose GardenImage source, Reuters

    Donald Trump has just made his first public reference to the election, days after his rival Joe Biden was projected as the winner by US networks.

    Speaking about the coronavirus response, Trump said: "This administration will not be going to a lockdown... whatever happens in the future - who knows which administration it'll be, I guess time will tell - but I can tell you this administration will not go to a lockdown."

    The president has so far refused to concede the election. Though he has taken to Twitter many times since the 3 November election to insist that he will contest the result, today's Rose Garden event is only the second public appearance he has made since last week, and he took a muted tone to deliver his coronavirus update.

  12. Trump touts success of Operation Warp Speedpublished at 21:40 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November 2020

    Donald Trump speaks at the White HouseImage source, EPA

    Donald Trump starts by praising the success of Operation Warp Speed.

    "No medical breakthrough of this scope or magnitude has ever been achieved this rapidly," he said, giving credit for the development of a vaccine to his administration. Earlier this month, the drug giant Pfizer announced breakthrough results of its vaccine candidate, which showed 90% effectiveness against the virus, according to early analysis.

    Pfizer did not receive Operation Warp Speed funding for research, but did sign an agreement for distribution of doses through the programme.

    Trump again referred to Covid-19 as the 'China virus' - something the president has repeatedly said since the start of the pandemic, as the virus was first detected in China.

    "Operation Warp Speed is unequalled and unrivaled anywhere in the world," he said. "It’s been an incredible effort."

    He would authorise the vaccine for emergency use, Trump said.

  13. President Trump speaking at White Housepublished at 21:26 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November 2020
    Breaking

    President Trump has begun speaking at the White House, giving an update on Operation Warp Speed - the plan to create, make and distribute Covid-19 vaccines and treatments.

    It's the first time he's spoken in public since Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election. As yet Trump has not admitted defeat.

  14. Biden demands 'urgent action' on Covid from Trumppublished at 21:24 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November 2020

    Biden holds a mask (file photo)Image source, Reuters

    Ad we wait for President Donald Trump to appear at the White House for an update on the coronavirus response, President-elect Joe Biden has repeated calls for Americans to adhere to mask wearing, handwashing and social distancing.

    In a statement on Friday, Biden said he had spoken to the co-chairs of his transition Advisory Board for the pandemic, adding: "The facts they presented were alarming."

    "This crisis demands a robust and immediate federal response, which has been woefully lacking," he added.

    "Urgent action is needed today, now, by the current administration - starting with an acknowledgment of how serious the current situation is."

    While he welcomed the progress made into developing a vaccine, he noted that it would be "many months" before it would be available for widespread use.

    This week, the US has seen record numbers of daily coronavirus infections. More than 10.6 million cases have been reported since the pandemic began, and 243,000 people have died in the country.

    Biden's statement comes as Reuters news agency reports that the states of California, Oregon and Washington have issued advisories urging people to avoid non-essential out of state travel ahead of Thanksgiving later this month.

  15. Carter Center to monitor Georgia recountpublished at 21:12 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November 2020

    Jimmy Carter pictured in 2012Image source, EPA
    Image caption,

    The centre was founded in 1982 by former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn

    The Carter Center has announced that it will monitor the manual recount of ballots in Georgia, the first time in its history that it will deploy its monitors for a US election.

    It said it wanted to increase confidence in US democracy.

    "As an independent, nonpartisan monitor, The Carter Center will assess the postelection audit and related processes to help bolster transparency and confidence in election results," it said in a statement., external

    President-elect Joe Biden is currently ahead in Georgia, but earlier this week its secretary of state announced a full hand recount of the almost five million votes cast because of the narrow margin between the two candidates.

    Donald Trump has made numerous allegations of election fraud since the vote without providing any evidence.

    The Carter Center has observed more than 110 elections in Africa, Latin America, and Asia since 1989, but never before in the US.

    The organisation stressed that its involvement would be limited to Georgia's post-election audit, adding that the decision was "not part of a broader assessment of the election as a whole".

    Earlier this year, the Carter Center announced that it would be turning its attention to the US by launching a campaign "to strengthen transparency and trust in the election process" amid increasing polarisation.

  16. No recount in Pennsylvaniapublished at 20:57 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November 2020

    Pennsylvania's secretary of state has said she will not order a recount in the state, as Joe Biden's margin of victory was sufficiently big not to warrant one.

    States often have rules which mean an automatic recount if a candidate's win is within a certain small range - by less than 0.5%, for instance. Georgia is currently holding a recount for this reason.

    But Pennsylvania will not do the same. Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar decided not to order a recount, an update today said, "as no statewide candidate was defeated by one-half of one percent or less of the votes cast".

    The BBC's results data says Joe Biden is ahead by about 60,000 votes, with 99% of votes counted.

    People celebrate Joe Biden's victory in PennsylvaniaImage source, Reuters
  17. Biden's route to the White Housepublished at 20:45 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November 2020

    The BBC projected tonight that Joe Biden won Georgia - a state that has not voted for a Democratic candidate since 1992.

    He is also projected to have won Arizona, which similarly has not opted for a Democratic candidate since the 1990s.

    But Biden also managed to flip three states that had been Democratic for decades before voting for Donald Trump in 2016 - Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.

    In all, Biden is projected to have won 306 electoral college votes to 232 for Donald Trump. It's exactly the same total Trump won in 2016 when he defeated Hillary Clinton.

    However one difference is that Biden also won the 2020 popular vote with nearly 78 million votes, more than five million more than Trump. In 2016 Trump got about 1.3 million votes fewer than Clinton despite winning the electoral college.

    Graph showing the states Joe Biden flipped in 2020Image source, .
  18. Conspiracy figurehead breaks post-election silencepublished at 20:29 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November 2020

    Shayan Sardarizadeh
    Disinformation specialist

    QAnon followerImage source, Getty Images

    The mysterious figure behind a viral pro-Donald Trump conspiracy theory has broken their silence about the president’s election defeat by hinting at an acceptance of the election result.

    The unfounded QAnon theory claims Mr Trump is battling a clandestine network of Satan-worshipping elites who run a child trafficking ring.

    It’s fuelled by messages on a fringe website from “Q”, a supposed government insider.

    Before a post late Thursday, Q hadn’t said anything since the 3 November vote.

    But some believers were dismayed by the new message, which included the term “post-POTUS”. The acronym stands for “President of the United States” and the post seemed to be, in part, an admission that Mr Biden won.

    QAnon believers are among Mr Trump’s most fervent supporters, and many remain convinced Mr Trump will overturn the result and win a second term.

    Travis View, who co-presents a podcast about QAnon, says that we shouldn’t underestimate the ability of Q supporters “to rationalise away any event that disconfirms their worldview”.

    “The majority will probably continue to ‘trust the plan’,” Mr View added, referring to one of the movement’s key slogans.

  19. Trump to speak in public for first time since electionpublished at 20:14 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November 2020

    President Trump arrives to a briefing in September 2020Image source, Reuters

    President Donald Trump is expected to give a media conference in less than an hour (16:00EST / 21:00GMT), in what will be his first public speech since US media projected that his rival, Joe Biden, had won the White House.

    He's set to give an update on the US response to the coronavirus pandemic from the White House, following a week of record daily coronavirus cases.

    More than 150,000 new infections were reported on Thursday - the highest figure since the pandemic began.

  20. Final projected outcome of electionpublished at 19:57 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November 2020

    mapImage source, .

    Ten days after election day, the counting continues but all states now have projected results.

    As of now, Democrat Joe Biden has 306 electoral votes while Republican Donald Trump has 232.

    It puts Biden over the magic number - 270 electoral votes - needed to win the presidency.

    These numbers are the inverse of 2016, when Trump won 306 electoral college votes to Hillary Clinton's 232 votes.