President Donald Trump has refused to concede to Joe Biden thus far despite a growing chorus of Republicans urging him to—and Americans believe it is unlikely he will do so prior to inauguration day, polling suggests.
While networks have called the election in Biden’s favor, Trump has dismissed this and insisted foul play facilitated the Democrat’s success—though he and allies have thus far failed to substantiate claims of widespread fraud and irregularities.
The president and his team are continuing to push against the outcome, pursuing lawsuits and calling for recounts in bids to shift results.
Amid this, Trump is facing a mounting chorus of Republican voices encouraging him to acknowledge Biden as victor and facilitate the transition process.
Despite such calls, of 30,929 Americans asked by YouGov if they believe Trump will concede prior to Inauguration Day more than half said he will not.
Those polled on November 23 were asked: “Regardless of whether you believe he should or shouldn’t, do you think President Donald Trump will or will not concede the 2020 presidential election prior to Inauguration Day?”
The most common response, with 54 percent going for it, was he will not. Around a fifth, 21 percent, said he will.
This comes with separate polling indicating voters think Trump should concede, having expressed doubt recounts pushed by him and his team will change the outcome of the election.
While Trump has managed to keep many political allies in line, with still relatively few active GOP lawmakers breaking rank, he is facing a growing number of high-profile Republicans urging him to concede.
Five Republican Senators have acknowledged Biden as president-elect: Patrick Toomey (R-PA), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME).
Former Colorado Governor Bill Owens became one of the latest high-profile Republicans to urge Trump to concede, with several serving governors having also congratulated Biden.
Newsweek has contacted the Trump campaign and the Biden transition team for comment.
Trump has continued to pursue legal action against issues taken with election outcomes and how votes have been tallied, despite limited success so far.
Biden has branded Trump’s refusal to concede “an embarrassment” and raised concerns delays to his transition team getting access to certain resources and information could cause issues down the line. He has highlighted the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines as something which could be delayed due to this.
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