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Donald Trump appeared to back the idea of trying to overturn the outcome of the Jan.6 congressional election in a series of tweets Saturday morning in which he once again made unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud.
A joint session of House and Senate politicians will meet on January 6 to count electoral votes, giving Joe Biden a 306-232 victory.
In what is typically a sealing exercise, the vice president, who oversees the process, opens the sealed certificates submitted by each state. However, if there are written objections from members of the House and Senate, a vote of both houses can be triggered.
Several Republican congressmen have said they will object. Incoming Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville has suggested that he could, despite Republican leader Mitch McConnell telling his party members not to.
On Saturday morning, Trump tweeted: “The Department of ‘Justice’ and the FBI have done nothing about voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, the largest scam in our nation’s history, despite the overwhelming evidence. They should be ashamed. History will remember. Never give up. See you all in DC on January 6. “
The tweet was immediately tagged with the phrase “This claim about voter fraud is in dispute” by Twitter.
In another tweet, also tagged as contested, the president wrote: “If a Democratic presidential candidate had a rigged and stolen election, with evidence of such acts at a level never seen before, Democratic senators would consider it an act of war, and fight to death. Mitch and the Republicans don’t do ANYTHING, they just want to let it go. DONT FIGHT!”
A third said: “The Supreme Court of the United States has been totally incompetent and weak in the massive electoral fraud that took place in the 2020 presidential elections. We have absolute PROOF, but they don’t want to see it. Don’t “stand up”, they say. If we have corrupt elections, we have no country! “
Trump later claimed that his incoming successor was a “bogus president” and compared the 2020 elections unfavorably to those held in Afghanistan.
He wrote: “A young military man working in Afghanistan told me that the elections in Afghanistan are much safer and much better organized than the 2020 elections in the United States. Ours, with its millions and millions of corrupt mail ballots, was the choice of a third world country. Fake President! “
Trump pointed out before the November 3 election that if he lost he would make accusations of fraud. He and his supporters have continued to do so since Biden’s victory became apparent four days later, but none of the evidence they have promoted has yet to be presented in court. The Supreme Court declined to hear a case brought by the state of Texas complaining about the way four swing states, which elected Biden, conducted their elections.
If Republican lawmakers object during the vote count on Jan.6, the tactic is unlikely to work. The rules stipulate that both houses must vote to support the objections, and the House of Representatives is controlled by Democrats.
Senate membership will be decided on January 5 with two second-round elections in Georgia, where incumbent Republicans are trying to keep their seats. If the Democrats win both, the parties will be tied, with 50 senators each. In the case of tied votes, the President of the Senate – currently Vice President Mike Pence, then as of January 20 Kamala Harris – casts a casting vote.
The move has been tried before, including in 2017, when half a dozen Democrats rose up to oppose Trump’s victory. In a touch of irony, they were rejected by none other than Joe Biden, who as vice president oversaw the recount. He noted that none of the objections had been properly put in writing and added: “It’s over.”
Trump, who is in Mar-a-Lago in Florida for the Christmas holidays, also tweeted about the joint stimulus and overhead bill that he has refused to sign, meaning unemployment benefits could be seen. affected and risk a government shutdown starting next week.
He wrote: “I just want our great people to get $ 2000, instead of the measly $ 600 that is now on the bill. Also, stop the billions of dollars in ‘pork’. “
His refusal to sign is a challenge to fellow Republicans, who had resisted Democratic efforts to increase payments to Americans. Yet many of the elements he complained about in a video recorded at the White House this week, such as foreign aid, come directly from his own budget demands.
Amid concern over his intentions with the stimulus and spending bill, and the defense bill, which he has vetoed by complaining that it does not address internet regulation issues, the president has been mocked for apparent inaction. during a time of multiple crises.
The White House has issued guidance for three days in a row stating that Trump “will continue to work tirelessly for the American people” during the Christmas holidays. However, he has spent much of the past two days playing golf and tweeting about conspiracy theories and television shows.
He also found time to expand on a complaint that his wife Melania had not appeared on enough magazine covers since she became first lady.
