Several of Trump’s most important allies have already lost their patience

While Trump promised on Monday not to prevent the United States government from providing assistance to President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team, he nonetheless emphasized in the same Twitter report that he refused to acknowledge defeat.

Some of Trump’s most important allies appear to have lost their patience over the weekend. Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski and North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer, one of Trump’s most loyal allies, called on Sunday for a transition to the Biden administration. Senator Pat Toomey congratulated Biden on his victory, following the defeat of another brief legal dispute in Pennsylvania.

Such comments and others like them suggest that there is a growing number of members in the party who acknowledge that Biden won the election, or are almost convinced of it, and that delays in repayment can hamper vital programs such as the United States’ response to the coronavirus pandemic. However, only a minority of Republicans speak openly about it, and some of them, in an attempt to be sure, asked D. Trump to begin the transition process, even if the legal struggles continued.

But even legal disputes lose support. Chris Christie, a longtime adviser to D. Trump, said on Sunday that the president’s team of lawyers had become a “national disgrace” after teaching conspiracy theories about voter fraud through various media statements really foreign.

Maryland State Governor Larry Hogan, an outspoken critic of D. Trump, has told the president to “stop playing golf and dirt.”

Other national figures, such as US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, are avoiding speaking for the time being.

But presidential time is running out as Pennsylvania prepares to confirm its election results earlier this week, witnessing Joe Biden’s victory.

The Michigan State Board of Auditors already confirmed its victory over Trump on Monday, closing another avenue for the outgoing head of state to challenge his defeat in the US presidential election.

“It’s time to start the transition process, at least to cooperate during the transition period. If Joe Biden finally wins the election, it would be nice if the president had more than one day to prepare,” Cramer told Meet the Press on Sunday. .

Cramer said the election was “probably” over, but not over yet, giving Trump the freedom to continue his legal fight.

“I don’t understand why we are so easily overwhelmed by a president who uses all his legal options in court,” he said.

Joe Biden’s team has increasingly called for the transition process to begin, warning that procrastination could hamper the delivery of a coronavirus vaccine to the public and suspend other major government programs. Biden has already started shaping his cabinet this week.

Trump has taken a series of unconventional steps to overturn the election results and has consistently claimed, without any solid justification, that the vote was rigged. Trump even lobbied state lawmakers to ignore the results and attribute the victory to him, not Biden, a move no senator supported, and Toomey called it illegal.

But most senators remain silent, unwilling to anger the outgoing president, who remains popular with Republican voters and is known for his attacks on those who stand in his way on the political road.

It is also risky to anger Trump and his supporters over Georgia’s vote in two Senate seats that will determine control of the House.

On Sunday, Georgia Senator David Perdue supported D. Trump’s demand for a third recount of ballots in Georgia.

D. Trump increasingly argues with Republicans demanding forgery evidence, such as House Republican Elizabeth Cheney, or those who believe Biden has won, such as Ohio State Governor Mike DeWine. The president is now openly inciting criticism of Mr deWine.

Trump is also in a rush to consolidate his political course, for example, by accelerating the withdrawal of troops from overseas service and further escalating tensions with China. He briefly attended virtual sessions of the G-20 summit last weekend, but didn’t wait until the end of the session each time to head to his golf course.

The Republican split before the weekend grew more pronounced. According to Senator Mitto Romney, D. Trump is trying to “subvert the will of the people.” Retired Senator Lamar Alexander said Friday that Joe Biden “seems to have a very good chance” of winning. Former President George W. Bush also congratulated Biden on his victory.

But Trump’s efforts suffered another blow Saturday when a federal judge in Pennsylvania dismissed a lawsuit that sought to block confirmation of state election results. Toomey stated that Trump had “exhausted all possible legal options” in Pennsylvania and that it was time to acknowledge that Biden had won.

Trump’s calls for him to provide evidence or admit defeat sounded even louder after Thursday’s press conference, where attorneys Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell spoke. They made a series of vague allegations of voter fraud, with Powell accusing Venezuela, China and George Soros of learning to mislead American voters and insisting that Trump won the election.

As early as Sunday, the Trump campaign parted ways with Powell. In a joint statement, Giuliani and Ellis stated that Powell did not belong to Trump’s bar association and was not the president’s personal attorney.

But even as legal disputes continue, many Republicans argue that the transition process still needs to take place to ensure the smooth transmission of key issues, such as the action of the Coronavirus Task Force to Combat the Spread of Infections.

“Obviously, it would be better for the Biden task force to be able to coordinate with the White House task force, learn from him and give him his ideas and at the same time listen to his observations. It would just be better,” said Michael Leavitt, a former governor of Utah who worked in GW Bush’s office, including as secretary of health. He, like many Republicans, maintains that the legal fight does not prevent the transition process from beginning. “I am one of those who thinks that these processes can and should happen at the same time,” he said.

Dr. Moncef Slaouis, one of the top officials leading the Trump administration’s efforts to develop a coronavirus vaccine, told Meet the Press on Sunday that he had been ordered not to share any information with anyone outside the administration. And he added that he believes the process should go smoothly whatever happens.

“All the decisions have been made. The train started. Whichever administration takes the helm, one thing or another, frankly, there is no difference. I hope there will be no interruptions in any case,” Slaouis said.