Elections in the US: Republicans divided by the defeat of Donald Trump’s electoral college

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has warned his fellow Republican senators not to join President Donald Trump’s widespread attack on Electoral College results, fearing an irreconcilable split in the Republican Party.

In public statements and private warnings on Tuesday (US time), McConnell worked to move forward into the Biden era and unite a fractured party ahead of the runoff elections that will determine control of the Senate.

Despite praising Trump’s “never-ending” accomplishments, McConnell infuriated Trump loyalists by finally recognizing Joe Biden as the incoming president.

“Many of us expected that the presidential election would yield a different result,” McConnell said yesterday. “But our government system has the processes to determine who will take office on January 20. The Electoral College has spoken.”

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Trump responded quickly, saying on social media that it was still “too early” to give up.

The president said the Republican Party “must finally learn to fight,” indicating that he has no intention of accepting defeat anytime soon.

McConnell’s recognition of the president-elect, after weeks of silence, followed other prominent Republicans who spoke after the Electoral College voted Monday. They finally said out loud what many Republicans had been privately pointing out: that Biden won the election and that they are essentially abandoning Trump’s electoral attacks.

From there, the floodgates were opened. Several Republican senators confirmed they had spoken to Biden, including Trump ally Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Mitt Romney of Utah, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said now that McConnell has spoken, “enough is enough” and Trump should “finish his term with a modicum of grace and dignity.”

Other Republican lawmakers have vowed to take the fight until January 6, when the US Congress votes to accept or reject the Electoral College results. Some might organize an inevitably futile protest in the House or Senate. Others have said that Trump’s legal battles should continue toward resolution before Inauguration Day, Jan.20.

A protracted fight within the Republican Party could exacerbate divisions and hurt turnout in the runoff of the Jan.5 election in Georgia, where two sitting Republican senators, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, face off against Democratic challengers Jon Ossoff. and Raphael Warnock in two contests that will decide which game. controls the Senate (Democrats would have to win both races).

Trump himself has warned of this, calling on Republicans to rally behind him. On social media, Trump demanded that the Georgia governor conduct another vote count audit, threatening, “Otherwise, it could be a bad day for two GREAT senators on January 5.”

The president also shared a post saying that Republican leaders in Georgia who resisted his efforts to overturn the election result “will soon go to jail.”

Historians and election officials have warned that Trump’s unfounded claims of election fraud threaten to erode Americans’ faith in the electoral system.

The president’s legal team alleges voting irregularities, even though Attorney General William Barr, who abruptly resigned Monday, has said there is no evidence of widespread fraud altering election results. State election officials, including Republicans, have said the election was fair and valid.

In a decisive blow to Trump’s legal efforts, the Supreme Court last week refused to take two of his cases challenging the electoral process in key states. Some 120 House Republicans signed on to that failed effort.