KEY POINTS

  • Trump's refusal to concede defeat to Biden underscores the divide in America
  • Half of Americans could oppose Biden's administration 
  • Many US citizens may see Biden's term as "illegitimate"

President Donald Trump’s refusal to accept his loss in the U.S. presidential election is the world’s biggest threat in 2021, according to a prominent risk assessment firm.

A new report from the Eurasia Group listed Trump’s ongoing campaign to delegitimize President-elect Joe Biden’s win in November and overturn the election’s results as the top global risk this year. The report also said that Trump's voter fraud allegations underscore the divide in America.

“The last-minute push by members of Congress to delay or derail the election certification serves as a foreboding sign of what's to come. The more polarized the country becomes, the less likely its eroding democratic institutions will enable the compromises necessary to resolve fundamental problems,” Ian Bremmer and Cliff Kupchan said in the report. Bremmer and Kupchan are the group’s president and chairman, respectively.

The risk consulting firm’s report also warned that roughly half of Americans would oppose Biden’s administration and see his term as “illegitimate.”

“As long as a significant portion of Trump’s voters remains loyal, he will cast a long shadow, compelling Republican leaders to support him to avoid alienating his backers. For them, Biden will be #NotMyPresident and considered illegitimate,” the Eurasia Group said.

The report comes after Trump called Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Saturday to demand that he “find” enough votes to overturn the election’s results.

“We have won the election in Georgia based on all of this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state,” Trump said during the hour-long phone call.

Trump berated Raffensperger as well as his legal counsel, Ryan Germany, after they dismissed the president’s allegations of voter fraud as untrue. The president later threatened the officials with criminal prosecution.

“You know what they did and you’re not reporting it. You know, that’s a criminal — that’s a criminal offense. And you know, you can’t let that happen,” Trump said.

On Dec. 7, Georgia recertified President-elect Biden’s win for the third time after officials could not find any evidence of widespread voter fraud following three counts of the ballots.

“Georgians can now move forward knowing that their votes, and only their legal votes, were counted accurately, fairly, and reliably,” Raffensperger said in a statement.

President Donald Trump lashed out at the Republican leadership as he faces a looming override of his veto of a defense bill
President Donald Trump lashed out at the Republican leadership as he faces a looming override of his veto of a defense bill AFP / SAUL LOEB