Geraldo Rivera says Trump is mad at him for recognising Biden won the election

Mr Trump has refused to take Mr Rivera’s last two calls

Fox News host Geraldo Rivera said Donald Trump - who he considers a friend - has stopped speaking to him because he acknowledged that Joe Biden won the 2020 election.  

Mr Rivera is a Trump ally and regularly defends the president during his appearances on Fox News.  

He discussed the rift in his relationship with the president while criticising Mr Biden's Covid-19 plan on the network.  

“I don’t mean to be petty or partisan,” he said. “I just want you to know that as [Trump’s] friend — even if he may not be speaking to me right now because of my position on the election being over — but I think, I insist that we have to recognize the role he played, the 45th president, in defeating a pandemic that has been so devastating to America and the world.”

The pandemic is still raging across the US, with cases growing across the country and hospitals facing the worst strain on resources since the start of the pandemic.  

Yesterday, more than 3,000 people died in a single day in the US from coronavirus.  

Mr Rivera said that he did not mean to hurt Mr Trump's feelings, he just wanted the president to "recognise the reality" that he had lost the election.  

Later in the segment, a host asked him to elaborate on his "juicy gossip." Mr Rivera explained that Mr Trump has declined his last two calls.  

Mr Trump is still waging his crusade to throw out the votes of millions of Americans and win the election on a technicality.  

Lawsuits brought by Mr Trump's allies meant to challenge the election have nearly all been thrown out of court, and the president has lost every recount in states where recounts were triggered.  

The latest gambit is a long-shot attempt led by Texas, Mr Trump, and 16 other states to challenge the results of the election in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia and Michigan. The Supreme Court would have to rule over the case, though it is unclear if the court will agree to adjudicate.  

The Supreme Court shot down another lawsuit - this one brought by Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania - which aimed to invalidate every mail-in vote in the state of Pennsylvania by claiming the state changed its voting laws illegally.  

Pennsylvania's election laws were changed through legislation co-sponsored by Republicans and passed through a Republican controlled legislature, and were only challenged in court after Mr Trump lost the election.