let this be clear here. No one is forcing you to believe whatever you want to believe. I present the facts here, not forcing anyone to go with it. Your percevied disgust or horror on such facts is on you, not me.
facts from dotard the congenital liar? not credible leh, even his own party is not partaking in his bs, they are distancing themselves from him in preparation for his demise, lol
National Politics
November 5, 2020 7:38 pm
Published
November 5, 2020 7:06 pm
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GOP leaders mum on Trump’s claims of a rigged election
Republican leaders have been largely silent to CNN about President Donald Trump’s claims of a rigged election, though a handful of rank-and-file congressional Republicans have spoken out against his latest remarks and few have publicly backed Trump’s charges of election fraud.
Speaking from the White House Thursday, the President said that a count of legally cast ballots would show him winning the presidential race and said at one point, “This is a case where they’re trying to steal an election, they’re trying to rig an election.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office declined to comment to CNN on Trump’s remarks.
Senate Majority Whip John Thune of South Dakota, as well as Sens. John Cornyn of Texas, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Deb Fischer of Nebraska, Joni Ernst of Iowa and Todd Young of Indiana — all members of Senate GOP leadership — did not respond to requests for comment.
House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy and House GOP conference chair Liz Cheney have also not responded to requests for comment.
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise responded to a request for comment with a statement from spokeswoman Lauren Fine, saying, “Whip Scalise urges every state to fairly and equally enforce their election laws as written, and only count those ballots that were cast legally. Americans deserve full transparency to have confidence that their votes are being counted accurately.”
A number of rank-and-file House and Senate Republicans pushed back on Trump’s claims, though most without mentioning the President by name.
GOP Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, who is retiring at the end of his current term, suggested that the comments are “dangerous.”
“A sitting president undermining our political process & questioning the legality of the voices of countless Americans without evidence is not only dangerous & wrong, it undermines the very foundation this nation was built upon,” Hurd
tweeted.
Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois tweeted, “This is getting insane,” and said, “if you have legit concerns about fraud present EVIDENCE and take it to court.” The President has stated his plan to do just that.
Several other Republican lawmakers echoed the assertion that evidence should be presented if it exists.
Michigan Republican Rep. Paul Mitchell, who is also retiring at the end of this term,
tweeted, “If anyone has proof of wrongdoing, it should be presented and resolved. Anything less harms the integrity of our elections and is dangerous for our democracy.”
“If a candidate believes a state is violating election laws they have a right to challenge it in court & produce evidence in support of their claims,” Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida
tweeted.
“If there are irregularities alleged, they will be investigated and ultimately resolved in the courts. Have faith in democracy, in our Constitution, and in the American people,” Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah
tweeted.
There has been no credible evidence presented yet of widespread voter fraud in this year’s contest.
McCarthy, the House GOP leader, refused to take issue with Trump’s claims about voter fraud on Wednesday.
Asked about Trump sowing doubt in the election results, McCarthy said, “What the President wants to see is that every legal vote gets counted, and that’s what we’re walking through right now.
“Where is the GOP?! Our voters will never forget…,” Eric Trump tweeted.
“The total lack of action from virtually all the ‘2024 GOP hopefuls’ is pretty amazing,” complained Donald Trump Jr.
A few hours prior to the President’s White House remarks on Thursday, Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, had echoed Trump’s message from over the past few days, questioning whether vote counting was as transparent as it should be and saying he shared the President’s concerns about mail-in ballots.
But before the President’s latest remarks, some House and Senate Republican leaders and rank-and-file members were sidestepping the controversial charges, instead calling for all votes to be counted in a legal manner set out separately by each of the 50 states with the backing of the judiciary if there are problems that need to be resolved.
“Taking days to count legally cast votes is NOT fraud,” tweeted Rubio, who says he is considering running for the White House in 2024.
“The courts will decide disputes,” McConnell said at a news conference Wednesday when asked about Trump’s concerns. “That’s the way we do it in this country. Having close disputed elections is not unusual.”
Asked about Trump’s calls to stop the counting, Blunt told the Washington Post Thursday it should continue.
“I think we have to count every legally cast vote. I agree with the President, if he thinks there’s a reason in some states that ballots are being counted outside what the law of that state allows, but I don’t agree that we can stop the count,” Blunt said.
Some of those who have publicly backed Trump largely argued that transparency is key in the vote count but avoided a full-throated defense of Trump’s allegations.
“We need transparency,” tweeted GOP Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana.
“Federal law should guarantee transparency in how vote is counted!” tweeted Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri.
“What the President wants to make sure is that every legal vote is counted. The people vote up until Election Day, not the days after as others would have. That’s what the President refers to,” McCarthy said at a news conference Wednesday. “We want to make sure it’s legal, it’s fair, and that every legal vote is counted, and that’s what we’re working towards. But I don’t think people should vote after the election though.”
But other Republicans who waded into the topic did so with dry statements aimed at ensuring all votes are counted:
“Under our Constitution, state legislatures set the rules and states administer our elections. We should respect that process and ensure that all ballots cast in accordance with state laws are counted. It’s that simple. I hope we can reach a final resolution as quickly as possible,” said Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican from Ohio.
“As we await all the results of the election, I urge everyone to be patient. Each state has different deadlines to receive ballots and a process in place to count those ballots,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska. “It is critical that we give election officials time to complete their jobs, and that we ensure all lawfully cast ballots are allowed and counted. The results will be known when all those ballots are counted.”