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Valdosta, Georgia, United States – Randy Sell drove nearly 25 hours from his home in Buffalo, New York, to watch President Donald Trump speak in Georgia over the weekend, a nearly 2,000 km (1,242 mile) journey made on behalf of a US president. That lost his candidacy for re-election.
“I want you to know that I endorse you,” Sell said as he lined up with friends who also made the trip from New York. “I don’t mind driving 25 hours to come here and show you that I’m with you, President Trump.”
Sell joined tens of thousands of like-minded Trump supporters in a raucous “victory” rally at an airport near the Florida border, an unusually high post-election turnout for a lame president in just a few weeks. in the White House. The rally was held to support Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, Republican candidates for the Georgia Senate whose second round of the Jan.5 election will determine control of the United States Senate, but it was Trump who served as the main draw.
Although Trump is leaving office, the size of the rally sent a message: Trump may be coming off center stage, but his passionate fan base is going nowhere. Trump’s presence and influence will continue to be a constant part of the Republican Party.
The thousands of attendees at Saturday’s rally, who stood close to one another for several hours as they shouted, danced and chanted, mostly without masks despite an ongoing global coronavirus pandemic, were united and energized by the common belief that that the Democrats had stolen the presidential election. Triumph.
“President Trump is a winner. He knows. I know. We all know. The world knows, ”said Valla Ann Marcus of Atlanta, Georgia. “Won.”
Thousands of people turned out to cheer on Trump at a rally of Republican senators from Georgia, who are running in a pair of second-round elections on January 5, Valdosta, Georgia, December 5, 2020 [Dustin Chambers/Reuters]
For weeks, Trump and his allies have unsuccessfully challenged the counting of votes in states across the country in an effort to reverse the November election. His team has filed dozens of lawsuits in court, but all have failed. Last week, after counts confirmed that Democrat Joe Biden had won in Georgia, Trump even tried to pressure the state’s governor, Republican Brian Kemp, to hold a special session of the legislature to override the will of the voters. of the state. The governor refused. On Monday, Georgia officials recertified the results showing Biden’s victory.
Even after all of the Trump team’s legal efforts have been blocked by the courts, Trump continues to make unsubstantiated claims that he was duped for a second term. He repeated the accusation several times during his speech Saturday and also encouraged Georgia Republicans to vote in the upcoming runoff elections.
“They rigged our presidential election, but we will still win it,” Trump said Saturday, adding later in his speech, “We will never give up and we will never back down. We will never ever give up.”
Spurred on by the president’s confidence, his supporters continue to hope that Trump can somehow find a victory before Inauguration Day on January 20.
“We’re going to turn this around and make sure Joe Biden and [Vice-President elect] Kamala Harris does not occupy the White House, “said Shelia DeLashmutt of Canton, Georgia, who said she believes the election was” fraudulent. “
Denise Watson, of Midway, Georgia, also said she believed Trump would remain in the White House.
By George, he’ll be back for four more years! Eight if we can, ”he said. “You have to trust the good Lord that it will fix. You can always solve it. He will have the last word. Does not matter “.
Trump supporters who flocked to Valdosta, Georgia on Saturday were united in their unfounded belief that Democrats stole the election. [Chris Moody/Al Jazeera]
Loeffler and Perdue, who appeared with Trump at the rally, know that they need the backing of staunch Trump supporters like these to win in January. (Polls show both rounds with a statistical tie).
While other Republican officials in Georgia have rebuffed Trump’s attacks on the state’s electoral integrity, Senate candidates have supported him. Both have called for the resignation of the Republican Secretary of State of Georgia, Brad Raffensperger.
And in a candidate debate Sunday, Loeffler refused to acknowledge that Trump lost the election. On Saturday, when Loeffler spoke on stage, he clenched his fist as people in the audience yelled, “Stop the robbery!”
“That is correct,” he said. “We have to have free and fair elections.”
Later that night, both Senate candidates were reminded of the consequences of not adequately supporting Trump. When they tried to speak onstage alongside the president, the crowd yelled at them, chanting “Fight for Trump! Fight for Trump! “
The lingering threat wasn’t subtle: Follow Trump, or else.
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