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Monday, January 4, 2021
“Criminal and dangerous”
Trump’s call in Georgia causes outrage
With a phone call to party colleagues, US President Trump hopes to influence the outcome of the elections in Georgia. A recording of the conversation caused great outrage in the Democratic field. Vice President Harris speaks of the “third abuse of power.”
“Criminal”, “dangerous” and “abuse of power”: The efforts of the current president of the United States, Donald Trump, to achieve his electoral defeat in the state of Georgia, retrospectively sparked outrage among Democrats.
In an hour-long phone call, Trump had bluntly urged Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who is responsible for the Georgia elections, also a Republican, to “find” enough votes for him and “recalculate” the result, as the Washington Post reported. on Sunday. The newspaper published a full recording of the conversation.
Other US media later reported on the content of the conversation, citing the recordings they had made. Trump also tweeted about the phone call with Raffensperger and insulted his party colleagues as “clueless.”
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris described Trump’s actions in Saturday’s phone call as a “blatant abuse of power,” revealing “the voice of despair.” Trump and his Republicans had filed six lawsuits against the result in the state and thus were unsuccessful, the Democrat said in an election campaign appearance in Georgia.
“Behavior is a dangerous threat to democracy”
Former Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro wrote on Twitter that “the president of the United States is blackmailing state officials in an attempt to steal the elections he lost.” His approach is “criminal and dangerous”.
Rep. Bobby Scott said that “Trump’s conduct is a dangerous threat to democracy and deserves a criminal investigation.” Prominent left-wing Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Trump’s actions warrant impeachment. Even Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger called Trump’s behavior on Twitter “absolutely appalling.”
In the phone call, Trump warned Raffensperger that he was taking a “great risk” and that he could be guilty of a crime if he did not act against electoral fraud. Trump narrowly lost in Georgia in the November 3 election. Democrat Joe Biden was there with about 12,000 votes in the lead. The results were counted twice, but the end result changed only slightly – there was no evidence of major voter fraud.
Trump complained in the conversation about the “wrong” result in Georgia. “I just want to find 11,780 votes … because we won the state,” he said, according to the recording. “We won the elections and it is not fair to take away the victory,” Trump said. “I can’t have lost Georgia.” “Hundreds of thousands” of questionable votes have been cast, the 74-year-old said. “The dead voted.” Raffensperger should verify the results again, Trump demanded.
There is “nothing wrong with” declaring that everything has been recalculated. “But check it out with people who want to find answers,” Trump said. Raffensperger responded, according to the recording: “We have to defend our numbers. We believe our numbers are correct.” He also noted that the results were upheld in court. On Twitter, referring to Trump’s claims, he wrote: “With all due respect, Mr. President, what you say is not true.”
Trump and Biden for the Georgia election campaign
The Washington Post article said the “rambling and sometimes incoherent conversation” showed how “obsessed and desperate” the president was over his electoral defeat. Trump still believes he can change the outcome in enough states to secure a second term. Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and attorneys also participated in the phone call.
In Georgia, extremely important two-seat second-round elections in the Senate will be held on Tuesday, the result of which could topple a majority of Republicans in the Washington House of Parliament. Trump and Biden wanted to personally campaign in Georgia on Monday (local time).
Trump lost the election nearly two months ago, but he continues to refuse to acknowledge Biden’s victory. His adversary will be sworn in as the new president on January 20. Biden garnered 306 votes from the electorate, significantly more than the 270 votes needed to win. In Georgia, votes were cast by 16 voters.