Former Vice President Joe Biden should not claim to have won the presidency, President Donald Trump said in a tweet Friday night, presumably a reference to Biden's expected televised address to the nation.
"Joe Biden should not wrongfully claim the office of the President. I could make that claim also. Legal proceedings are just now beginning!" Trump tweeted.
Biden's address is expected Friday night -- with fireworks if he has been declared a winner of the electoral college -- and without if he has not.
Biden was leading Trump 253 to 213 electoral votes in most tabulations, and the former vice president was also ahead in the vote counts in Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and Pennsylvania.
Trump has mounted legal challenges in several states, with more reportedly on the way. His legal teams are alleging illegal voting and other irregularities that they believe can flip enough states to allow him to reach the 270 electoral votes needed for reelection.
Three days after the US election in which there was a record turnout of 160 million voters, a winner had yet to be declared.
In the big prize of Pennsylvania, Biden's lead inexorably grew as final batches of ballots were added up. By late Friday he had an advantage of almost 20,000 votes over Trump, although that was still within the narrow margin that would likely require a recount.
Should Biden, 77, be confirmed to have won Pennsylvania, he will automatically cross the threshold for winning the presidency.
Biden was set to give an address in his hometown of Wilmington, sparking speculation that he planned to declare victory. But with U.S. television networks holding off from naming him the formal winner, he might change his plans to something more modest.
Trump has several times prematurely named himself the winner, refusing to accept the data showing Biden headed for victory.
In an apparent scaling back of earlier comments accusing the Democrats of vote rigging and "stealing" his victory, Trump issued a somewhat milder written statement Friday, warning "about the integrity of our entire election process."
AFP contributed to this report.
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