Trump heads to Georgia a day after filming release

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Donald Trump and Joe Biden are heading to Georgia today to gather their party’s faithful before the two rounds that will decide who controls the United States Senate, a day after the release of a recording of the outgoing president that shook Washington .

If Democratic hopefuls beat Republicans in both races tomorrow, the split in the upper house of Congress will be 50-50, which means incoming Vice President Kamala Harris will have the deciding vote.

The duels of the outgoing president and his successor were to be the final exclamation point in a two-month-long bombardment of the southern state awash with cash from campaign donors.

But instead, yesterday’s post of Trump’s conversation with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a fellow Republican, only managed to divert attention away from the Senate election, something his party must win.

Trump still refuses to admit he lost to Biden in November, despite multiple recounts and court rulings that undermined his case.

The Republican has also continued to make repeated allegations of voter fraud and election manipulation without providing evidence.

In the audio recording, Trump urges Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes,” one more than Biden’s margin of victory, and makes vague threats that Raffensperger and his attorney general could face “great risk” if they fail to meet their request.

Mr. Raffensperger is heard responding, “Well, Mr. President, the challenge you have is that the data you have is incorrect.”

Trump urged Brad Raffensperger to ‘seek’ more votes

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris criticized the call as a “blatant and audacious abuse of power by the President of the United States” during a Sunday rally by Democratic Senate candidates in Savannah, Georgia.

But Trump still has support within his party.

Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who has been a fervent Trump supporter, did not respond to a question about the recording during a campaign event.

And before news of the tape reached the public, many pro-Trump voters said yesterday that they believed the president had won Georgia.

Months after the presidential election, Georgia is still in full campaign mode, with buses transporting candidates to small town rallies, billboards everywhere, and door-to-door campaigns.

Trump and Biden’s travels underscore the importance of the upcoming poll, but Trump’s visit could backfire if repercussions from the tape persist.

Georgia hasn’t sent a Democrat to the Senate in 20 years

The victory of challengers Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff over Loeffler and David Perdue, respectively, would give Democrats – and Mr. Biden – a huge boost, as they already control the House of Representatives.

Trump’s appearance on behalf of Loeffler and Perdue is expected to be his last major rally before leaving the White House on January 20.

The former real estate mogul will likely be greeted like a hero in Dalton, a city in a conservative, rural district in northwest Georgia.

Posters of “Trump 2020” still abound throughout the region; in fact, they are even more abundant than those of Loeffler, 50, and Perdue, 71.

Biden will be in the state capital, Atlanta, where he will campaign with Warnock, a 51-year-old black pastor, and Ossoff, a 33-year-old audiovisual producer.

Vice President Mike Pence will campaign in a rural area south of Atlanta.



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