US Election: Philadelphia Mayor tells Donald Trump to 'put his big boy pants on' and accept 'defeat'

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney says Trump needs to acknowledge that he's lost.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney says Trump needs to acknowledge that he's lost. Photo credit: Getty / Facebook

US President Donald Trump is still insistent he's won the US election "if you count the legal votes", but the Philadelphia Mayor has shut him down.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney has told Trump to "put his big boy pants on" and accept his defeat.

"What the president needs to do, frankly, is put his big boy pants on," Kenney told reporters on Friday (local time).

"He needs to acknowledge that he lost. And he needs to congratulate the winner."

Trump is adamant the Democrats are trying "to steal the election from us" and has made multiple false and unsubstantiated claims.

"If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us," he said during his speech on Thursday.

Trump declared that "no illegal votes" should be allowed to be counted after the election date, suggesting that illegal voting was happening.

But late postal ballots can be counted in some US states, as long as they are postmarked by November 3.

On Friday he revealed that his team is prepared to take legal proceedings against the Democrats.

"I had such a big lead in all of these states late into election night, only to see the leads miraculously disappear as the days went by," he tweeted.

"Perhaps these leads will return as our legal proceedings move forward!"