Pompeo congratulates a tiny Caribbean country on its election while refusing to recognize Biden as the winner in the world's oldest democracy
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- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday congratulated St. Vincent and the Grenadines for holding "free and fair elections."
- Pompeo has not yet congratulated his own country, which is technically the world's oldest democracy, for doing the same. And he hasn't recognized President-elect Joe Biden as the winner.
- President Donald Trump has refused to concede and baselessly claimed there was mass voter fraud, but the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday said 2020 was the "most secure" election in US history.
- Pompeo on Friday left for a trip to seven countries where all of the leaders have congratulated Biden on the election result.
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been addressing election results in other countries, even as he refuses to recognize President-elect Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 US presidential election.
Pompeo on Friday congratulated Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves on his reelection in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
"We commend the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines for their free and fair elections, and we congratulate Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves on his reelection. Looking forward to our continued work together to create a safer, more prosperous Caribbean region," Pompeo tweeted.
Though America's top diplomat has congratulated the small Caribbean country on its "free and fair elections," he's not extended the same praise to the US — what is technically the world's oldest democracy.
President Donald Trump has refused to concede to Biden and falsely declared victory, pushing baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud. There is no evidence of mass voter fraud, but Pompeo and other top advisers to the president have joined Trump in refusing to recognize Biden as the winner. All of the available evidence suggests the 2020 US election was free and fair.
The Department of Homeland Security in a statement on Thursday said 2020 election "was the most secure in American history."
"There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised," the statement added.
A team of international election observers invited by the Trump administration also applauded how the election was handled in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic. And election officials across the US representing both parties told the New York Times there was no evidence voter fraud impacted the outcome of the election.
Pompeo on Friday embarked on a 10-day journey to seven countries with leaders that have congratulated Biden on his 2020 victory. Countries across the globe have congratulated Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
The secretary of state during a press conference earlier this week suggested there would be a "second Trump administration" despite the result of the election. While this was interpreted as a joke by some, a number of Democratic lawmakers and former diplomats excoriated Pompeo over his remarks.
During the same press briefing, Pompeo was asked by a reporter whether Trump's refusal to concede undermines the State Department's frequent statements encouraging free and fair elections abroad. Berating the reporter, Pompeo dismissed the question as "ridiculous."