Trump has no plans to immediately concede election as Biden takes lead: Report
Washington: Donald Trump does not have plans to immediately concede the election to Joe Biden after his Democratic rival pulled ahead in key states that could deliver him enough electoral votes to win the race for the White House, a senior aide of the president was quoted as saying by a media report on Friday.
According to the latest US media projections, Biden pulled ahead of Trump in Georgia. He has also taken the lead over Trump in Pennsylvania.
Trump cannot find a route to 270 electoral votes without Georgia and Pennsylvania, so his chances of securing reelection will hinge on developments in the two key battleground states.
Georgia's 16 electoral votes would be enough to guarantee at least a tie in the 538-member Electoral College, pending results from the other uncalled states. Pennsylvania, which has 20 electoral college votes would single-handedly deliver the White House to Biden.
Reacting to the latest developments, the senior Trump aide told Fox News that the president's counselors have been giving him advice in both directions, with some telling Trump that a concession is a correct thing to do, and others pushing him to continue to fight to ensure the vote was correct and legitimate
The aide, who was not identified, told Trump's favorite news channel that the president is "simply skeptical."
He warned about this for months, the aide said. The media didn't take it seriously, and now, here we are with the scenario.
The aide said, though, that the president may ultimately concede.
He's just not there yet, the aide added.
Reacting to the Trump aide's remarks that President Trump has no plans to concede the race, Biden spokesperson said, "As we said on July 19th, the American people will decide this election."
"The United States government is perfectly capable of escorting trespassers out of the White House, campaign spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign has filed lawsuits in a number of states this week, seeking access to poll watching, as well as a federal lawsuit in Nevada urging officials to stop counting illegal ballots, claiming thousands of ballots were sent to non-residents and the deceased.
The president will almost certainly ask for a recount in Pennsylvania, the report said, noting that this will be in addition to the one he and his campaign announced in Wisconsin.
He will also likely ask for a recount in Georgia as well, and if he doesn't overtake Biden, he will likely request a recount in Arizona, too, the report said.
Asked if this would be resolved any time in the near future, the aide told Fox News, I don't see how it is.
Meanwhile, Trump campaign general counsel Matt Morgan on Friday said: "This election is not over."
"The false projection of Joe Biden as the winner is based on results in four states that are far from final," Morgan said.
"Georgia is headed for a recount, where we are confident we will find ballots improperly harvested, and where President Trump will ultimately prevail."
Trump on Thursday vowed that he and his campaign would not allow corruption to steal the election while maintaining that he will win the 2020 presidential race.
If you count the legal votes, I easily win, he said. We will not allow corruption to steal such an important election or any election for that matter. Trump, however, did not give any evidence of electoral malpractice.
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Rupee rises 6 paise to 89.92 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee witnessed range-bound trade in the morning session on Friday, appreciating by 6 paise to 89.92 against the US dollar as thin liquidity conditions accentuated everyday demand-supply imbalances, keeping the rupee tilted toward weakness.
Forex traders said the USD/INR pair is expected to trade in a narrow range as the 90 level is being protected by the Reserve Bank of India.
Moreover, the support from positive domestic equities was offset by sustained foreign fund outflows.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 89.95 against the US dollar, then gained some ground and touched 89.92, rising by six paise from its previous close.
On Thursday, the rupee depreciated 10 paise to close at 89.98 against the US dollar.
"Unless RBI comes and sells dollars heavily, the movement is going to be in small ranges as seen in the last three sessions. The pair is seen in a holding pattern between 89.80 and 90, considering the narrow range," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director at Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
Bhansali further noted that corporate demand, FPI demand, and government demand have been the salient features of the rupee over the past year, during which it fell by more than 5 per cent and became the worst-performing Asian currency, though partly protected by the RBI.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading marginally down by 0.15 per cent at 98.17.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.38 per cent higher at USD 61.08 per barrel in futures trade.
"With early-year liquidity still thin and domestic fundamentals offering a mixed but stable backdrop, the rupee appears set to remain range-bound in the near term. As long as USD/INR stays below the 90 handle, the balance of risks tilts mildly in favour of the rupee," CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari said, adding that against this backdrop, USD/INR is expected to trade in a 89.30–90.20 range.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex climbed 158.19 points to 85,346.79 in early trade, while the Nifty was up 55.8 points to 26,202.35.
Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 3,268.60 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
On the domestic macroeconomic front, gross GST collections rose 6.1 per cent to over Rs 1.74 lakh crore in December 2025, on slow growth in revenues from domestic sales following the sweeping tax cuts, according to government data released on Thursday.
Gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue in December 2024 was over Rs 1.64 lakh crore.
