Trump walks away from Covid briefing refusing to take questions about the election

They were his first in-person, public remarks in over a week

The president refused to answer any questions about the presidential election—or anything else— following a coronavirus briefing at the White House, the president’s first public address in over a week, even as the nation is consumed with an election he won’t concede and a coronavirus that is setting new records across America.

Instead, he used the remarks to focus on the successes of Operation Warp Speed, the effort to distribute a coronavirus vaccine once it is approved, and say the US wouldn’t go into another coronavirus lockdown. He also left the door open that he still thinks he may have a second term, yet also seemed to almost mention a Biden administration at one moment. 

But the US coronavirus response and election results are both far from settled. 

On Thursday, the US hit a record 160,000 new coronavirus cases in a single day, topping the previous high of over 100,000, set just a week earlier.

The same day the president addressed the nation about the vaccine effort, various news outlets projected a win for Joe Biden in Georgia, further cementing the president-elect’s victory and bringing his likely Electoral College total up to 306 with races in all 50 states called. 

The president, along with his top cabinet officials like secretary of state Mike Pompeo continue without evidence to cast doubt on the election results, despite the president’s lawsuits making similar arguments unraveling around the country.