US election: Sources claim First Lady Melania Trump has urged President to concede defeat

The US election drama has stepped up a notch amid reports a growing number of Donald Trump’s own relatives – including wife Melania – are now urging him to concede. The President – who convincingly lost the November 3 election to former vice president Joe Biden – has so far refused to admit defeat. He has repeatedly made a string of allegations of election fraud, with no evidence, despite losing the popular vote by more than 4.4 million votes so far, and receiving just 214 electoral college votes compared with Biden’s 290.

To win a US election, a candidate must secure a crucial 270 electoral college votes to claim victory, and while three states – Alaska, Georgia and North Carolina – are yet to finishing counting, they would not make a difference to the final result.

However, Trump has been digging in his heels since election day, branding it a “stolen election” and labelling his rivals “thieves” on Twitter while also pursuing legal avenues to challenge the outcome. However, it appears the tide is beginning to turn when it comes to Trump’s own inner circle. A “source familiar with the conversations” reportedly told CNN that First Lady Melania Trump had privately shared her opinion and instructed her husband to accept the situation. “She has offered it, as she often does,” the source said, according to CNN.

The American people deserve fair elections. Every legal – not illegal – vote should be counted. We must protect our democracy with complete transparency.— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) November 8, 2020

Publicly, however, it’s a different story, with Melania taking to Twitter to echo her husband’s concerns regarding “illegal” votes. “The American people deserve fair elections. Every legal – not illegal – vote should be counted. We must protect our democracy with complete transparency,” she posted on Twitter in her first statement since the US election today.

Meanwhile, CNN also reports that the President’s senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner – who is married to Trump’s eldest daughter Ivanka – has delivered a similar message, although Trump’s campaign spokesman Jason Miller has denied that claim. In contrast, Trump’s eldest sons Eric and Don Jr have both urged their father to continue the fight against the election result, with both also backing up his unfounded fraud claims.

Software from hell! There needs to be a manual recount of every ballot in this country right now! https://t.co/179Bk8ltHQ— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) November 8, 2020

DECLASSIFY EVERYTHING!!!

We can’t let the bad actors get away with it.— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) November 8, 2020

So far, some high-profile Republicans have spoken out in support of Trump and backed up his claims, with former house speaker Newt Gingrich sensationally telling Fox News in an opinion piece that there had been “breathtaking systemic corruption during this election”.