US President Donald Trump and president-elect Joe Biden attended separate, simultaneous Veterans Day ceremonies, as what should have been a moment of national unity was marred by the Republican's refusal to acknowledge Mr Biden's election win.
On a rainy, grey day in Washington, the president visited Arlington National Cemetery for a sombre wreath-laying ceremony, his first official appearance since the 3 November election. He made no public remarks.
At the same time, Mr Biden appeared at the Korean War Memorial in Philadelphia for his own solemn wreath-laying ceremony.
US media projected five days ago that Mr Biden won the White House.
President Trump salutes at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. Source: AAP
Since then Mr Trump has not addressed the nation other than via Twitter and a written statement released to mark Veterans Day, and has not conceded to Mr Biden, as is traditional once a winner is projected in a US vote.
With COVID-19 cases shattering records across the country and states imposing new restrictions in a push to contain the virus before winter arrives, Mr Trump seems to have all but shelved normal presidential duties.
Instead, he has remained shut up inside the presidential mansion, pushing an alternate reality that he is about to win and filing lawsuits alleging voter fraud that so far have been backed up by only the flimsiest evidence.
On Thursday he was tweeting fresh evidence-free claims of election wins and ballot tampering, despite the consensus from international observers, world leaders, local election officials and US media that the 3 November vote was free and fair, and that there have no credible allegations of fraud.
President-elect Joe Biden and Jill Biden, attend a service at the Philadelphia Korean War Memorial. Source: AP
Claiming that a poll in Wisconsin on Election Day had resulted in "possibly illegal suppression" he said he was "now preparing to win the state," which was called for Mr Biden one week ago.
"Many such 'deplorable' instances!" he added on Twitter.
Some Republicans were adding their voices to growing calls for the president to concede, with experts warning his refusal to do so was undermining the democratic process and holding up the transition to Mr Biden, who takes office in January.
Among them was Republican secretary of state for Montana, Corey Stapleton, who heralded the "incredible things" Mr Trump accomplished in office.
"But that time is now over. Tip your hat, bite your lip, and congratulate Joe Biden," he tweeted.
'Embarrassment'
However, some of the most powerful figures in the Republican party - among them Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Senate leader Mitch McConnell - have appeared to back Mr Trump in his bid to undermine Mr Biden's victory.
"There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration," Mr Pompeo said in a sometimes testy news conference on Wednesday, while Senator McConnell has said the president was "100 per cent within his rights" to challenge the election in court.
None of the lawsuits appears to have the potential to change the result of votes and even a planned recount of Mr Biden's paper-thin victory in Georgia, or anywhere else, would be unlikely to change the fundamental math.
Mr Trump's victory in Alaska, which US media called for him on Thursday putting another three electoral votes in his column, was not enough, either.
"I just think it's an embarrassment, quite frankly," Mr Biden said on Tuesday, when asked what he thinks about the president's refusal to acknowledge defeat.
But otherwise, he has largely ignored Mr Trump, signalling that despite attempts by the Republican to stymie his transition to power he was increasingly a president in waiting.
Since his projected win was announced on Sunday, Mr Biden has addressed the nation, set up a coronavirus task force, spoken with world leaders including Trump allies, begun vetting potential cabinet members and delivered policy speeches.
The president's only known activities outside the White House have been to play golf twice over the weekend, after the results came in.
Normally routine secret presidential intelligence briefings have been off the daily schedule. He has made no mention of the dramatic rebound in the COVID-19 pandemic across the country.
Mr Trump's only significant presidential action has been the abrupt firing of defence secretary Mark Esper, which he announced on Twitter.
His failure to concede has no legal force in itself, but the General Services Administration, the usually low-key agency that manages the Washington bureaucracy, has refused to sign off on the transition, holding up funding and security briefings.
