George W. Bush congratulates Biden on win and his 'patriotic' victory speech as he tells Trump to concede because the election 'was fundamentally fair and its outcome is clear'Daily Mail/UK, Nov 8, 2020
George W. Bush congratulated Joe Biden on his election victory Sunday - and delivered an unmistakable message to Donald Trump that he must now concede.
The only living former Republican president broke his silence, more than 24 hours after Biden was declared the winner in a call by TV networks and the Associated Press, to say that he had spoken to the Democratic victor, and to Kamala Harris, the vice president-elect.
'I just talked to the President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden,' he said in a statement. No Republican leader has so far called Biden president-elect.
'Though we have political differences, I know Joe Biden to be a good man, who has won his opportunity to lead and unify our country.'
And in what will be instantly read as a rebuke to Trump over his claims of fraud and a direct message that he must publicly concede the election, Bush said there were no doubts over the integrity of the result.
'President Trump has the right to request recounts and pursue legal challenges, and any unresolved issues will be properly adjudicated.
'The American people can have confidence that this election was fundamentally fair, its integrity will be upheld, and its outcome is clear.'
The message from the 43rd president could hardly be clearer and shows the pressure mounting on Trump to give up his apparently doomed fight to remain in the White House for a second term.
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