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American elections in Michigan
Influence on parliamentarians: this is Trump’s new tactic to stay in power
Election loser Donald Trump is not yet ready to resign from the White House.
© Andrew Harnik / DPA
Donald Trump does not give up. Although his demands are dismissed one by one, he is unwilling to acknowledge his electoral defeat. His next move: a controversial invitation to two Michigan MPs.
Give up? No way! That would be something for “losers”, and the incumbent president definitely doesn’t want to be seen as such. To avoid his electoral defeat, his plans are increasingly adventurous. Starting with requests for lawsuit counts challenging the outcome of the vote on the basis of unfounded allegations, to stunts like in Pennsylvania, where Trump has his star attorney Rudy Giuliani try to overturn the election result altogether. After most of the legal steps have already failed, he’s pushing for a new strategy in Michigan.
Donald Trump invites Michigan deputies to the White House
This time, Trump went one step further. On Thursday he invited two top Republican deputies to meet at the White House. Reuters and AP news agencies, as well as the “New York Times” report. Michigan Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey and House Speaker Lee Chatfield will sit with the US President, said two people who have been briefed on the arrangements.
The invitation symbolizes an intervention in the local electoral process of previously unknown scope, and marks a new peak in Trump’s contempt for the political system. As the state prepares to vote for President-elect Joe Biden on December 14, the incumbent president is personally reaching out to officials to push the process in his favor.
It is unclear what the president wants to discuss with Shirkey and Chatfield. However, according to the AP, some members of Trump’s team hold the theory that the president could induce the two well-meaning Republicans to appoint voters who could vote against the will of the voters. Neither Shirkey nor Chatfield commented on the matter. But both are said to have previously indicated that they will not attempt to reverse Biden’s victory. If Trump succeeds in persuading the state electoral body not to confirm Biden’s victory in Michigan, state lawmakers could be asked to select voters. However, legally this strategy would be highly dubious, possibly even illegal.
Legal steps have failed miserably
The controversial invitation comes at a time when Trump’s campaign team has to drop one lawsuit after another due to lack of evidence. It wasn’t until Thursday morning that star attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani announced that the team was dropping a federal lawsuit to stop certification of results in Wayne County, Michigan.
By dropping the lawsuit against Wayne County, Republicans lost or dropped all of Michigan’s significant legal actions. Only the state Supreme Court’s decision to maintain an appeal in the Wayne County case is pending.
Governor: “Stop wasting energy”
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer is tired of the current president’s behavior. His message to Trump at a press conference Thursday: “Stop wasting energy reversing what happened in this election and spend it on a real Covid aid package.”
That choice was approved by an overwhelming majority, Whitmer said. “I was sure it was a fair election and Joe Biden won the state of Michigan with more than 150,000 votes.” The governor said she hoped that election officials would do their job and confirm this result.
Additional sources: The New York Times, AP
