GOP senators sabotage Trump’s conspiracies over election results: ‘he can say whatever he wants’
As Democrats reacted with alarm to Trump’s weekend Twitter rants, Republicans turned it down.
“He can say whatever he wants,” said Sen. Deb Fisher, a Nebraska Republican who advises Senate GOP leadership.
Asked if she was upset with Trump’s comments, Fischer said: “If I am bothered by everything that everyone here says, I can’t come back.”
The apathy marked a familiar pattern through Trump’s four years of presidency: she sparks a major controversy, and Republicans on Capitol Hill largely ignore it. But this time, Trump is launching one conspiracy theory after another, which can sow many fears unrest and have a lasting impact on faith in American elections and confidence in democracy.
Sen. Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican who chairs the Senate Rules Committee that oversees the elections, rebutted Trump’s claims that the election was rigged. “I’m not overly concerned,” he said.
Asked if he thinks Trump won the election, Blunt said: “There is a process for this. We are about the end of the time period where you can make your case in court. Let us give him such We do.”
Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the most senior Senate Republican who supports a classified briefing to Biden, rejected Trump’s false claims that he won the election and baseless alleges that the election was rigged.
“There is no feeling of worry about anything other than just the number of electors, and the one who has got 270 voters is going to be the next president,” he said.
Even when they support the president, many doubt that his claims will be in court.
Asked whether the election was rigged, as Trump said, Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who won his race in Texas this month, said: “I don’t know if he is mentioning any specific incident Or generally. “
Cornyn feels Trump’s fraudulent claims won’t change the election: “I haven’t seen anything that changes the outcome.”
Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, who has said Trump is within his legal rights to challenge the election, last week tried to reassure the public that the transition would not be disrupted. But on Monday, McConnell asked if he agreed with Trump’s false claims that he “won the election.”
Some of Trump’s staunch defenders also had no objection to the president’s claims.
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Monday that he has no concern that Trump is planting suspicions in the democratic process, arguing that it is a “fair game” as he claims victory Because “we don’t” yet know who “won,” despite the election results, clearly showed Biden on track for an Electoral College victory.
“I don’t worry about the president saying that he thinks he won the election,” Hawley said. “I think it’s a completely fair game. He can go out and make his argument.”
Others avoided taking a pinch on the subject.
Sen. Barr Johnson, a Wyoming Republican and member of the GOP leadership, would not say whether he agreed with Trump that the election was “rigged”.
“There have been many tweets that have gone back and forth, so I’m not sure what the most recent one was,” Barrus said.
This story has been updated with additional responses on Monday.
“Wannabe troublemaker. Pop culture fanatic. Zombie nerd. Lifelong bacon advocate. Alcohol enthusiast. Tv junkie.”
