George W. Bush claims that the incumbent POTUS Donald Trump has the right to request recounts, after congratulating the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on his projected* win.
Per CNN, the Former Republican president issued a statement via The Bush Center's official Twitter account, in which he stated to the 204,000 followers that he had spoken with Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris, and congratulated them both on their projected victory in the election.
Bush stated:
"Though we have political differences, I know Joe Biden to be a good man, who has won his opportunity to lead and unify our country. The President-elect reiterated that while he ran as a Democrat, he will govern for all Americans."
Bush continued: "I want to congratulate President Trump and his supporters on a hard-fought campaign. He earned the votes of more than 70 million Americans - an extraordinary political achievement.
"They have spoken, and their voices shall continue to be heard through elected Republicans at every level of government."
Bush added:
"No matter how you voted, your vote counted. President Trump has the right to request recounts and pursue legal challenges, and any unresolved issues will be properly adjudicated.
"The American people can have confidence that this election was fundamentally fair, its integrity will be upheld, and its outcome is clear."
Former POTUS Barack Obama has also congratulated his former running mate. In a statement made on Instagram, Obama wrote:
"I could not be prouder to congratulate our next President, Joe Biden, and our next First Lady, Jill Biden. I also couldn’t be prouder to congratulate Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff for Kamala’s groundbreaking election as our next Vice President.
"In this election, under circumstances never experienced, Americans turned out in numbers never seen. And once every vote is counted, President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris will have won a historic and decisive victory."
Meanwhile, former president Bill Clinton wrote on Twitter:
"America has spoken and democracy has won. Now we have a President-Elect and Vice President-Elect who will serve all of us and bring us all together. Congratulations to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on your momentous victory!"
And in a statement via The Carter Center on Twitter, former president Jimmy Carter added: "Rosalynn joins me in congratulating our friends President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
"We are proud of their well-run campaign and look forward to seeing the positive change they bring to our nation."
As of this writing, CNN projects that Joe Biden has received 279 electoral votes and a total of 75,588,540 public votes, while Donald Trump has received 214 electoral votes with a total of 71,205,346 public votes.
Biden is projected to be the oldest American president in history at the age of 77, while Harris is projected to become the first Black, Asian, and female vice president in US history.
*Biden has been declared the projected winner of the election by NBC, CNN, BBC News, and many others.
It is important to note that it is common for media agencies to reveal their election projections based on voting analysis and counted ballots. Click HERE to read why the Associated Press called Biden for Pennsylvania, and therefore, the election.