Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner urges president to concede election, report says

Jared Kushner has reportedly advised Donald Trump to concede the election amid growing concerns the commander-in-chief is desperately attempting to cling onto power despite defeat to president-elect Joe Biden.

Mr Kushner, Mr Trump's son-in-law and a senior White House adviser, intervened on Saturday after Mr Biden surpassed the 270 electoral college votes needed to enter the White House, two sources told CNN on Saturday night.

The Independent has contacted Mr Kushner's representatives for comment.

Team Trump remains defiant the election is "far from over" in spite of Mr Biden clinching his home state of Pennsylvania and later Nevada, sealing victory to become 46th president of the United States.

Mr Trump and his lawyers are claiming widespread voter fraud has taken place in the election, launching a slew of lawsuits in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania, where the so far baseless allegations have been focused on Philadelphia, a Democrat stronghold.

Trump campaign surrogates have yet to present any evidence that irregular ballot-counting or illegal voting activity has taken place in any state, and the increasing size of Mr Biden's lead has led most legal experts to suggest the president's legal challenges are destined to fail.

The mounting desperation surrounding the Trump campaign was perhaps best encapsulated by a hastily organised press conference in Philadelphia,  which took place outside a landscape gardening centre located between a crematorium and a porn shop.

Shortly before his fate was sealed, Mr Trump disappeared to play golf at one of his courses in Virginia, while his personal lawyer and one-time New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani, was wheeled out to address reporters outside the Four Seasons Total Landscaping centre.

"Trump won't concede," said Mr Giuliani, once considered an American hero for his response to the 9/11 terror attacks. "Networks don’t get to decide elections,” he added, referencing numerous outlets that had called key battleground states for Mr Biden.

Meanwhile, celebrations erupted in the streets of Washington DC, New York and other urban areas after Mr Biden's win was confirmed, putting an end to four chaotic years of Donald Trump in the White House.

President-elect Biden, and vice president-elect, Kamala Harris, later addressed supporters in Willmington, Delaware where the pair set out their visions for a country that remains bitterly divided.

Mr Biden made a direct pitch to Trump supporters, promising to deliver for them as well as the millions of Americans who were key to putting him in the Oval Office.

“To those who voted for president Trump, I understand your disappointment tonight. I’ve lost a couple of elections myself,” he said.

“But now, let’s give each other a chance. It’s time to put away the harsh rhetoric. To lower the temperature. To see each other again. To listen to each other again. To make progress, we must stop treating our opponents as our enemy. We are not enemies. We are Americans.”

Ms Harris, who became the first black and south Asian women elected to the office of vice president, honoured all those who went before her and "paved the way for this moment tonight".

“While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last, because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities,” she added.