Washington, December 8: President Donald Trump has likened the US to a "third world country" as he blasted the "rigged" election, reiterating his unsubstantiated claims about widespread voter fraud in the presidential polls.

The election was a "disgrace to our country", Trump told reporters at the Oval Office of the White House on Monday during a ceremony to present the Presidential Medal of Freedom to wrestler and coach Dan Gable. Also Read | Joe Biden Picks Black Ex-General Lloyd Austin to Lead Pentagon As Defense Secretary.

"It's like a third-world country -- these ballots pouring in from everywhere, using machinery that nobody knows ownership, nobody knows anything about. They have 'glitches', as they call them. Glitches. The glitches weren't glitches. They got caught sending out thousands of votes -- all against me," he said.

Democratic leader Joe Biden won the November 3 presidential election over Trump, who is continuing his legal efforts to upend his victory. Trump, a Republican, has allowed the official start of Biden's transition to power but has not yet conceded defeat, alleging massive voter fraud and electoral malpractice. Also Read | Essential Workers, Who Risked Their Lives During COVID-19 Pandemic, Win TIME’s 2020 Person of the Year Reader Poll.

However, state election officials and the media have denied such large-scale fraud. Election officials in key battleground states have declared Biden the winner, giving him an unofficial 306-232 edge in the Electoral College that determines the outcome of US presidential contests.

The Trump campaign has filed multiple lawsuits in several states, most of whom have been dismissed so far. “If you look at the polls, it was a rigged election. You look at the different states. The election was totally rigged. It's a disgrace to our country," Trump told reporters, responding to a question ahead of the next week's meeting of electors who would cast their vote, formally putting their stamp on Biden's victory as the next US president.

"This was like from a third-world nation. I think the case has been made. Now we find out what we can do about it. But you'll see a lot of big things happening over the next couple of days,” Trump said. Meanwhile, Gable, who was awarded the Medal of Freedom, became the first wrestler in the US history to receive the honour.

The Medal of Freedom is bestowed to "individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavours," according to the White House.

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