Trump loyalists mount last stand in Washington

Supporters of United States President Donald Trump demonstrated in Washington, DC, on November 14, 2020. – Supporters support Trump’s claim that the November 3 election was fraudulent. (Photo by Olivier DOULIERY / AFP)

WASHINGTON – Thousands of staunch Donald Trump supporters rallied for one final battle in Washington on Saturday, chanting “four more years” and blaming fraud for an electoral defeat that will force the president to leave the White House after just one term.

Trump himself drove by in his armored caravan, on his way to play golf, grinning through the window of his limousine at wild cheers and signs that read “The Best Presidency of All Time” and “Trump 2020: Keep America Great.” .

The Republican incumbent clings to the discredited claims of massive fraud, claiming he defeated President-elect Joe Biden in the Nov. 3 vote, marking another unprecedented challenge to American democratic norms as his time runs out in the position.

At least 10,000 people, few in masks, gathered in the city’s Freedom Square before marching to the Supreme Court, brandishing flags in a strident atmosphere reminiscent of a Trump campaign rally.

“President Trump deserves to see who is behind him, he deserves to feel the love,” protester Kris Napolitana of Baltimore told AFP. “I think he’s going to win when all the fraud and cheating is discovered.”

With the right-wing militia group Proud Boys also among those in attendance, a large security presence was deployed to prevent clashes with anti-Trump events outside the Supreme Court.

– ‘The whole system is rigged’ –

The latest counts gave Democrat Biden a clear victory in the state-by-state Electoral College deciding the presidency, with 306 votes to Trump’s 232. Two hundred and seventy votes are required for the election.

But Margarita Urtubey, 49, a horse breeder who flew in from Miami with her sister, said the election was “so corrupt” adding that “Trump overwhelmingly won. We are here to march to ‘stop the theft’ of this election, to make our voice heard. “

With the march underway, Trump tweeted that “hundreds of thousands” had attended, while his spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany made the highly exaggerated claim that more than a million people were present.

But turnout was undeniably high for a heavily Democratic city, driven by protesters from across the country, from Florida to Pennsylvania to Colorado.

Darion Schaublin drove from Columbus, Ohio to protest the fact that “the whole system is rigged … in the way information gets to people.”

“The truth never comes out,” said the 26-year-old, who says he lost his job at a restaurant after refusing to wear a mask as protection against Covid-19.

President Trump is preventing Biden from transitioning ahead of his January 20 inauguration and has filed numerous unsuccessful lawsuits to challenge the vote count across the country.

Trump said Friday that “time will tell” if he remains president, in a momentary slip from his refusal to admit his electoral defeat.

The hint of doubt came despite his continuing to claim that massive fraud, for which no evidence has been produced, robbed him of victory.

– Biden prepares for power –

Despite the declaration by their own intelligence officials this week that the elections were “the safest in American history,” Trump and his right-wing media allies show no signs of giving up on their quest to have the elections annulled. results.

After stepping past protesters in Washington, Trump headed to his golf club on the outskirts of the capital in his usual weekend routine.

Half a dozen supporters stood on one side of the entrance with Trump flags, and roughly the same number stood on the opposite side with a large “Biden Harris” sign and one that read, “We Vote. You are fired.”

Biden on Saturday biked to a Delaware state park with his wife Jill and a security detail. When asked if he was closer to choosing his cabinet, he answered “yes.”

Despite Trump’s stance, the president-elect is preparing for power, and many world leaders acknowledge his victory.

China was the last nation on board, and a Foreign Ministry spokesman said: “We express our congratulations.”

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