Washington: US President Donald Trump said on Friday that “Hopefully, the, whatever happens in the future, who knows which administration it will be, I guess time will tell”. He broke his silence after a week without on-camera comments, speaking at a Rose Garden event to herald the imminent authorization of a Covid- 19 vaccine.

During a short speech about the vaccine work, Trump insisted that he would never again call for a lockdown to curb the virus’ spread. Donald Trump said Friday that “time will tell” if he remains president, in a momentary slip of his unprecedented refusal to concede his election defeat and help Democrat Joe Biden prepare to take power. The hint of doubt in Trump’s mind came despite him continuing to push a conspiracy theory that mass fraud — for which no evidence exists — robbed him of victory in the November 3 election.

Trump in a tweet said thanks to supporters backing his claim that the “Election was Rigged” and said he might “stop by and say hello” at rallies planned in Washington on Saturday. A number of groups under the banners of “Stop the Steal”, “Million MAGA March” and “Women for America First” have planned rallies for the day. Trump continues to block Biden’s ability to prepare his transition ahead of inauguration on January 20 and he has filed numerous lawsuits — unsuccessfully — to challenge vote counts around the country.

On Friday, a judge in Michigan issued another rejection of Republican claims of fraud. Trump was speaking just after television networks projected results in the final two undeclared states — Biden winning the former Republican stronghold of Georgia in an extremely close race, and Trump getting North Carolina. Those last tallies gave Biden a solid overall final win in the state-by-state Electoral College that decides the presidency with 306 votes against Trump’s 232.