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With mounting desperation, Donald Trump declared that he would “fight like hell” to hold on to the US presidency and called on Republican lawmakers to reverse their electoral defeat to Joe Biden when they meet this week to confirm the Electoral College vote.
The electoral voters won by US President-elect Biden “will not take this White House!” He yelled as supporters cheered at an open-air rally Monday night local time in Georgia. Trump’s announced purpose for the trip was to boost Republican Senate candidates in the second round of Tuesday’s election, but he spent much of his speech bitterly complaining about his electoral defeat, which he insists he won “by a lot.”
Earlier in Washington, DC, he lobbied Republican lawmakers to formally object Wednesday in a joint session of Congress that will confirm Biden’s Electoral College victory, a confirmation of Biden’s national victory on November 3.
Although he received nothing but cheers Monday night, Trump’s attempt to reverse the presidential election is dividing the Republican Party. Some Republican lawmakers backing him are rushing in, despite a barrage of condemnations from current and former party officials who warn the effort is undermining Americans’ faith in democracy. The 10 former defense secretaries alive wrote in an op-ed that “the time to question the results is over.”
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It is unclear to what extent Republican leaders in Congress will be able to control Wednesday’s joint session, which could last into the evening, although challenges to the election are sure to fail. Trump himself is cheering the crowds for a rally near the White House on Wednesday.
US Vice President Mike Pence, who is under pressure to tilt the results in Trump’s favor, will be watched closely as he presides over Wednesday’s joint session in a ceremonial role.
“I promise you this: on Wednesday, we will have our day in Congress,” Pence said while campaigning in Georgia ahead of Tuesday’s runoff elections that will determine control of the Senate.
Michael Holahan / AP
One of Georgia’s Republicans in Tuesday’s runoff, Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who is facing Democrat Raphael Warnock, told the crowd that he will join senators who formally object to Biden’s victory. (File photo)
Trump said in Georgia: “I hope our great vice president supports us. He’s a great guy. Of course, if he doesn’t make it, I won’t like him that much. “He added,” No, Mike is a great guy.
One of Georgia’s Republicans in Tuesday’s runoff, Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who is facing Democrat Raphael Warnock, told the crowd that he will join senators who formally object to Biden’s victory. The other Republican seeking reelection, David Perdue, who is running against Democrat Jon Ossoff, will not be eligible to vote.
Trump repeated his allegations of election fraud on numerous occasions, which have been rejected by election officials, both Republicans and Democrats in state after state, and by courts up to the US Supreme Court. His former attorney general, William Barr, has also said that there is no evidence of fraud that could change the outcome of the election.
Erin Scott / AP
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia wears a mask that reads “Trump Won” when she arrives on the floor of the House to be sworn in on the opening day of the 117th Congress at the US Capitol in Washington.
The congressional effort to keep Trump in office is being led by Josh Hawley of Missouri and Ted Cruz of Texas, along with members of the House of Representatives, some on the sidelines of the party.
“I just got off the phone with @realDonaldTrump,” tweeted recently elected Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who is aligned with a conspiracy group backing Trump.
“He wants you to call your Rep and Senators TODAY, ALL DAY!” He tweeted Monday. “Don’t let the Republicans be the Surrender Caucus!” He later joined the president on Air Force One while traveling to Georgia.
Evan Vucci / AP
Biden, speaking at a rally in Atlanta, said Trump “spends more time whining and complaining” than working to solve the coronavirus pandemic. (File photo)
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has tried to prevent his party from participating in this battle, which could help define the Republican Party in the post-Trump era. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Trump ally, has refused to say much publicly about it.
Both Hawley and Cruz are potential presidential contenders in 2024, vying for the Trump support base.
Biden, speaking at a rally in Atlanta, said Trump “spends more time whining and complaining” than working to solve the coronavirus pandemic. He added dismissively: “I don’t know why he still wants the job, he doesn’t want to do the job.”
Brynn Anderson / AP
Congressional effort to keep Trump in office is led by Josh Hawley of Missouri and Ted Cruz, pictured, of Texas. (File photo)
During the day on Monday, more current and former Republican officials chided the effort to change the election.
Former three-term Missouri senator John Danforth said in a harsh statement: “To give credence to Trump’s false claim that the elections were stolen is a very destructive attack.”
He said, “It’s the opposite of conservative; it’s radical. “
Two current Republican senators, Rob Portman of Ohio and Mike Lee of Utah, joined the growing number now opposing the challenge from lawmakers.
AP
A coalition of elected senators and senators pledged to reject the results.
Portman said in a statement: “I cannot support Congress thwarting the will of the voters.”
At the Dalton rally, Trump said he was “a little mad” at Lee, but expressed hope that the senator would change his mind. “We need your vote,” Trump said.
The US Chamber of Commerce, the giant lobbying organization and the virtual incarnation of the business establishment, said the electoral vote challenge “undermines our democracy and the rule of law and will only result in further division in our nation.”
So far, Trump has garnered the support of a dozen Republican senators and as many as 100 House Republicans to challenge Biden’s victory in Electoral College 306-232.
Lynne Sweet / AP
US Vice President Mike Pence, who is under pressure to tilt the results in Trump’s favor, will be closely watched as he presides over Wednesday’s joint session in a ceremonial role.
With the inauguration of Biden on January 20, Trump is intensifying his efforts to avoid the traditional transfer of power. In a call released Sunday, he can be heard pressuring Georgia officials to “find” more votes from the Nov. 3 election he lost in that state.
The challenge to the presidential election is on a scale never seen before since the aftermath of the Civil War, although the typically routine process of confirming Electoral College votes has met with brief objections before. In 2017, several House Democrats challenged Trump’s victory, but Biden, who was presiding at the time as vice president, quickly fired them to affirm Trump’s victory.
The states organize their own elections and Congress has been reluctant to interfere.
“The 2020 election is over,” said a statement Sunday from a bipartisan group of 10 senators, including Republicans Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Mitt Romney of Utah.
A variety of Republican officials, including Maryland Governor Larry Hogan; Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the third Republican leader of the House of Representatives; and former Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan, have criticized the efforts of the Republican Party to revoke the elections.
Hawley defended his actions in a lengthy email over the weekend to his colleagues, saying his Missouri constituents have been “loud and clear” in insisting that Biden’s defeat to Trump was unfair.
Cruz’s coalition of 11 Republican senators vows to reject the Electoral College accounts unless Congress launches a commission to immediately conduct an audit of the election results. Congress is unlikely to agree with that.
The group, which did not present new evidence of electoral problems, includes Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Steve Daines of Montana, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Mike Braun of Indiana, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Roger Marshall from Kansas, Bill Hagerty from Tennessee and Tommy Tuberville from Alabama.
