Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Trump

Mr. Morrison congratulated Joe Biden on his election as 46th President of the United States on Sunday morning and said he had “been a good friend of Australia for many years”.

Australia woke up to the news Sunday morning when Mr Biden declared the winner to AEDT around 3:30 a.m. Sunday, when Pennsylvania and its 20 electoral college votes fell to the Democratic candidate, taking him past the 270 required to win.

But President Donald Trump has yet to admit defeat and continues to falsely claim that he actually won the election.

Although some senior Republicans encouraged him to make a concession, President Trump instead posed several legal challenges to the election result.

“I have great faith in American democracy and have consistently expressed it,” said Morrison when asked what Australia would do if Mr Trump refused to leave.

“This is not a new process, it is a proven and established process, and I am confident that it will resolve itself over time.”

Mr Morrison said he will continue to work “closely” with President Trump and his administration during the transition period between now and January 20.

He thanked Mr. Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

“Australia has a close working relationship with the current government, where the strength of our alliance has grown and deepened,” he said.

The Prime Minister said he looked forward to strengthening Australia’s ties with the United States when Mr Biden takes office.

“The president-elect has been a good friend of Australia for many years, including when he visited Australia in 2016,” he said.

“I am confident that this partnership, based on more than 100 years of successful partnership, will only get stronger and stronger under the new joint responsibility that President-elect Biden and I will share in the future.

“Our partnership goes back more than a century. Next year, our countries will celebrate 70 years since the ANZUS treaty was signed – the basis of our security alliance.

“We also look forward to working with President-elect Biden and his administration to further combat the global pandemic and recession of COVID-19, develop a vaccine, fuel a global economic recovery and develop new technologies to address the global To practically reduce emissions face the challenge of climate change.

“We welcome the President-elect’s commitment to multilateral institutions and the strengthening of democracies.”

Mr. Morrison also congratulated elected Vice President Kamala Harris.

The Prime Minister said he hoped that President-elect Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, would visit Australia next year to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the ANZUS treaty.

“ANZUS has been the bedrock of our security foundations in Australia since the creation of this alliance, and I look forward to inviting the President-elect to join us in his formal capacity next year,” said Morrison.

Australian Ambassador to the United States Arthur Sinodinos recognized the possibility of legal challenges when speaking with ABC Insiders on Sunday morning, but said the diplomats in Washington are acting on the basis of Joe Biden as President-elect.

“We take the position that the election was scheduled,” he said to host David Speers.

“The President has the right to challenge this in court, but we, the UK, New Zealand, Canada, India, France, Germany and others have taken a view based on the information provided by the networks and others who have called were that this is the case.

“Until January 20th, Donald Trump will remain the President of the United States. My job here at the embassy, ​​our people at the embassy, ​​will continue to deal professionally with our colleagues at the State Department, the White House.

“(After) the inauguration there will be a new president, we will then work closely with the new administration.”