The Lead with Jake Tapper

Trump snaps at reporter who asked about conceding; For the first time, Trump says he will leave white house if electoral college votes for Biden; Trump won’t say if he will attend Biden’s inauguration; Trump says he’ll campaign in GA senate runoffs; Ex-election security chief: “I stand by” my statement, the election was the most secure in American history; Biden & Harris to receive first president...

Biden: “every decision we make matters” in fighting Covid; Biden urges unity: “we’re at war with a virus, not each other”; Trump cancels PA trip, makes baseless claims of voter fraud at GOP event on speaker phone; Trump calls into PA event with baseless election claims; Sources: pardon for Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort and George Papadopoulos under discussion at White House; Trump announces full pa...

Trump makes surprise appearance to brag about stock market before annual turkey pardoning;  Biden: America will “lead the world, not retreat from it”; Biden: Team brings experience, leadership, fresh thinking; Trump makes two brief appearances today, takes no questions; Trump’s HHS Secy” We’re “Immediately” getting Biden team all material they feel they need; Experts warn new covid surges could fo...

Biden names Antony Blinken as Secretary of State; Trump campaign drops lawyers who pushed conspiracies; Biden nominees include first immigrant as Homeland Security secretary & first woman to lead intel community; Trump’s “election defense” donations also go to his leadership PAC; Millions travel for Thanksgiving amid Covid-19 surge; Doctor: n95 masks are still in short supply; NJ Gov: GSA chief’s...

Trump falsely claims “I won” the election; President Trump continues quest to overturn election, meeting with Michigan GOP lawmakers; President-elect Biden speeding up key cabinet decisions; Biden adds more staff to incoming administration; Michigan state lawmakers at WH for meeting with Trump; Source: Handful of alarmed Republicans discussing Trump intervention; In latest fundraising pitch, 75% o...

Biden to meet with Schumer & Pelosi tomorrow in Delaware; Source: MI GOP Officials asked to rescind vote to certify election after personal calls from President Trump; Source: Trump told ally he knows he lost, but wants to get back at Dems for questioning legitimacy of his 2016 win; Biden, Harris speak after meeting with governors; Biden: There’s no excuse to not share data and let us plan; Biden:...

Source: HHS staffers told not to communicate with Biden team; official: Trump in “bunker mentality” as he stayed behind closed doors; Biden: if Trump keeps delaying transition briefings, our Covid response will be “behind by weeks or months”; Biden coronavirus adviser: “we will be ready on day one”; Sources: Biden considering RI, NM govs for HHS secretary; WH: Trump canceled Thanksgiving trip beca...

Acting Defense Secy announces troop drawdown in Afghanistan, Iraq; Biden: Top job as President is “protecting the American people”; Biden announces senior White House staff; Biden: U.S. “been through a lot of damage in the last 4 years; President Trump shares praise of campaign lawyer who pushes deranged conspiracy theories; Sources: President Trump in “dark mood”; Trump’s 10th day since election...

Biden: Trump & GOP refusing to allow transition is “ more embarrassing than debilitating” to the country; Pandemic reaches worst levels yet as Trump denies Biden transition access to key agencies; Biden: sooner we get transition plan, sooner vaccine can move forward; Fauci: it’s “obvious” that coordination with Biden amin would be better for U.S. public health, Trump hasn’t attended task force mee...

Biden to take "deliberative" approach to filling cabinet; SF halts all indoor dining, NY closes bars & restaurants at 10pm in effort to curb spread; Influential model predicts 439K deaths in U.S. by March 1; Two Covid vaccines, two therapeutics may be granted emergency use authorization before end of this year; Study: New mutant Covid strain could spread more easily; Trump touts vaccine & economy;...

Some Republicans begin to recognize Biden as President-elect; Record 144,000 new cases in one day in U.S.; Sources: Trump children split on post-election approach; Biden moves forward with transition without help from Trump admin; President-elect Biden names Ron Klain as his WH Chief of Staff; Pope Francis congratulates Biden in phone call; President-elect Biden blocked from getting intel briefing...

Source: Trump wants to continue legal challenges; WH political director latest in Trump orbit to get coronavirus; Source: Biden team projecting sense of inevitability, concerned any aggressive actions could backfire; Biden lays wreath at ceremony marking Veterans Day; Biden’s message to world leaders: “America is back”; President-elect Biden meeting with transition advisers today; Only four GOP se...

Pompeo denies election results: “There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump Administration”; Biden: I haven’t talked to Mitch McConnell yet; Biden: GOP is “mildly intimidated” by Trump; Source: WH Budget Office tells agencies to continue preparing Trump budget for February; Fauci: Vaccine doses may be available by end of Nov.; U.S. has added 100,000+ new cases every day for the last week;...

Source: Trump personnel chief threatens to fire anyone looking for another job; Trump refuses to concede or accept results of election; Sen Graham: Trump could run in 2024 if court challenges fail; HUD secy Ben Carson & Trump legal adviser David Bossie test positive for coronavirus; DOW closes up 800+ points on vaccine news, Biden win; Trump refuses to concede, peddles false fraud claims; GOP alli...

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Biden team eyes Pennsylvania on quest to rebuild “blue wall”; Biden campaign manager: “under no scenario will Donald Trump be declared a victor on election night”; Tomorrow: Biden to visit Scranton & Philadelphia; Trump on final blitz, holding five rallies today; Trump floats firing Fauci, but lacks direct power to do so; 96 million+ have already voted, 70% of all 2016 ballots; Federal judge rules...

Multiple states report record high daily COVID-19 cases; Donald Trump Jr. claims COVID death numbers are “almost nothing” on day U.S. reports nearly 1K deaths; Trump holding 17 rallies in final four days of race; Biden: “We cannot afford four more years of Donald Trump”; Influential model predicts 2,250 Americans will die daily by mid-January; Person in California tests positive for COVID-19 and t...

Trump, Biden in Florida as state sees coronavirus surge; Biden tells rally crowd “if Florida goes blue, it’s over”; Biden Campaign says it’s “aggressively” courting Latino voters; Biden vows exec order to help reunite separated immigrant kids; Dem group spending $10 million in Ohio & Texas; Fauci warns of “whole lot of pain” as U.S. COVID cases surge; 41 states report increases in COVID-19 cases;...

Trump’s approval rating sits at 42% in new CNN poll; Trump makes last-minute cross-country push for votes; WH touts “ending” pandemic as cases, hospitalizations soar; WH calls Miles Taylor, “Anonymous” author, a “low-level disgruntled former staffer”; Biden: Trump’s handling of pandemic “an insult” to those suffering; Trump, Biden campaigns target key states in final days; Giroir: “cases are going...

Biden campaigning in Georgia, Trump carried GA in 2016; Trump holding reckless rallies, downplaying worsening pandemic; What final campaign events reveal about Trump, Biden strategies; Biden: U.S. needs “a president who cares less about his TV ratings and more about the American people”; Dr. Birx criticizes North Dakota over lack of mask usage; Positivity rates climb dramatically in states such as...

Biden on Trump holding rallies: “the example you set matters; Trump falsely says U.S. “rounding the corner” as nation records most cases in a week ever; Pence defying CDC guidance, holding a potential superspreader event; WH chief of staff admits “we’re not going to control the pandemic”; WH considers rose garden ceremony for Barrett’s swearing in despite last event being a superspreader; Trump ad...

Fresh off final debate, candidates hit campaign trail; Trump holding rally at Florida retirement community; Biden: Trump’s handling of virus makes him unfit for office; GOP Adviser: Trump debate performance could be too late; COVID cases soar, hospitalizations spike & deaths climb across U.S.; Study: Masks could save 100,000+ U.S. lives through February; COVID hits L.A. megachurch that defied publ...

Tonight: Trump & Biden face off in final presidential debate; Trump advisers plead for president to take less combative approach; Trump says he “may” change strategy from last debate; WH: Trump tests negative for COVID-19 ahead of final debate; Campaign: Biden will appeal directly to voters, say we can get through this crisis together; Biden on tonight’s debate: Hopefully Trump plays “by the rules...

Trump: “what the hell is going on” with lockdown measures; Azar: “I am the president’s health secretary, I speak for him”; Ivanka Trump to fundraise with president in Nashville; Romney: “I did not vote for President Trump”; Tonight: Obama rallies for Biden in first campaign appearance; No state is trending in the right direction for Covid cases; Fauci: it looks like we’ll have a difficult fall and...

Fauci calls Trump's attacks on him a "distraction"; Trump continuing reckless rallies as COVID cases surge; Melania Trump cancels plans to attend Trump rally due to continuing coronavirus recovery; U.S. Four-Star Admiral: The world no longer looks up to America; Fmr top special operations commander says U.S. needs a president with decency and respect; Fmr FDA Commissioner: U.S. is one week away fr...