Trump’s friends walk away

In the American election thriller, your nerves are on edge. Donald Trump seems unable to accept defeat. That is why he is attacking the democracy of his country and plunging many Republicans into a dilemma.

This has never happened before in America. When the current president of the United States, Donald Trump, appeared in front of the press on Thursday night, numerous American stations stopped broadcasting his speech after a few seconds. Trump again declared himself the winner of the election, accusing Democrats of electoral fraud. Evidence No. No consultations were allowed.

Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the White House press room: Once again, the president of the United States has accused the Democrats of electoral fraud without presenting any evidence. (Source: AP / dpa)

With his false claims, Trump is increasingly damaging America’s democracy and the dignity of his office. Many of his followers believe his lies, they are currently taking to the streets, sometimes armed, and demonstrating against elections that were actually fair and democratic. Trump accepts an escalation of violence and continues to warm up to maintain his own power. His motive: He doesn’t want to be a loser, not a one-term president of the United States.

Lies lies lies …

Since he can hardly do any more harm to the political opponent, he is now attacking the elections themselves, and with them American democracy as an institution. First, he criticized the mail-in vote recount, which was still ongoing in many places three days after the election. Most of these were submitted by supporters of his challenger Joe Biden, who voted more often by mail due to the Corona crisis. None of this is fraud, it is normal practice.

Today, many Republicans view the president’s actions as an attack on American democracy. That is why many of Trump’s party friends no longer want to follow Trump. Some of his companions keep their distance so as not to be dragged by him. The image of the “Trumptanic” jump is circulating on social media.

So it’s no coincidence that no one endorsed Trump at his press conference, not even Vice President Mike Pence. Pence, who has applauded the president of the United States in almost every major situation over the past four years, is now a bit off. “I support President Trump. We have to count every LEGAL vote,” the vice president wrote on Twitter. But it does not ask for the counts to be canceled, it does not speak of electoral fraud and it does not declare Trump the winner. Because: The counting of votes by mail is legal.

Other Republicans are also withdrawing from the issue. Above all, they are the politicians who have been Trump’s opponents before or who hold leadership positions and have not yet abandoned their careers. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said it was not uncommon for someone to declare himself the winner of an election, as Trump did, albeit hastily. But: “Claiming to have won the elections is different from ending the count.”

Republican writes to Trump: “Enough!”

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, considered a critic of Trump, was even clearer: “The fact that it takes days to count the votes cast legally is NOT a fraud,” he wrote on Twitter.

Lisa Murkowski, a Republican senator from Alaska, also called for more patience until there is a reliable result. It is important to give election officials time to do their job. It is important to admit and count all legally submitted votes. Republican MP Adam Kinzinger tweeted directly to the president: “Enough. Period,” he wrote on Twitter. “The votes will be counted and you will win or lose.”

Even Donald Trump’s confidants try to distance themselves from the lies of the president of the United States. “His attack on the election is a bad strategic decision that would not be expected of someone in office,” said Chris Christie, former New Jersey governor. Trump’s comments are scandalous and outrageous and a terrible mistake, said Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan of the Washington Post.

Trump still has some followers

There are strategic reasons why you feel lonely around Trump. In the event of defeat, the party must reposition itself. So for many Republicans, it’s also about damage control and their own future.

All votes are counted: America and the world eagerly await a decision in the American presidential election. (Source: AP / dpa)

On the other hand, Trump has a very loyal base of support in the population that is becoming more and more radical. It is thanks to them that Trump received more votes in the US elections than many experts expected. Also, there are some prominent Republicans who still side with the incumbent president.

“I tell them the president is angry and I am angry and the voters should be angry,” Senator Ted Cruz said on Fox News. Cruz says the Pennsylvania judiciary ordered him to count “until Biden wins,” which is a lie.

Trump’s son speaks of “total war”

There are also prominent Republicans in the United States Senate who support Trump, for example, the chair of the Legal Affairs Committee, Lindsey Graham. He donated half a million dollars to the Legal Aid Fund, which will be used to finance litigation against the election results. Former Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders was also convinced that her former boss would be the “leader of this party,” whatever the outcome.

The president of the United States also receives support from his family. Donald Trump Jr. asked his father on Twitter to start a “total war” over the elections. It must “expose all fraud and cheating.”

For the Trump family, defeat would be bitter in several ways: If there were only one term in office, the chances of Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr., for example, to play a decisive role in the Republican Party in the future would be would reduce. That also explains impulsive reactions. “Apparently, Donald Trump’s family is very disappointed because they probably planned to do what the Kennedys, Clintons or Bushes managed to do,” FDP foreign policy expert Alexander Graf Lambsdorff told the ZDF “Morgenmagazin”.

Courts reject demands from Trump camp

At least legally, Trump’s accusations don’t get caught. Courts in Nevada, Georgia and Michigan have already dismissed his team’s lawsuits. The count continues in Georgia.

Joe Biden is about to win the United States presidential election and enter the White House. The decision could still be made on Friday. You can find the current status here.

Then Trump could end up as a president of the United States who, in his madness of lies and false claims, has lost many of his political friends. For many, there was no alternative to jumping off the “Trumptanic.”