In a week that saw President Trump turn his back on the fight against the Coronavirus, sulk in the White House, and his legal challenges in Arizona, Michigan, and Pennsylvania go up in smoke, the Trump team continued to fight the election results in Georgia.
Friday, Nov. 20, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger certified results reported by the state’s 159 counties that show Biden with 2.47 million votes, President Donald Trump with 2.46 million votes, and Libertarian Jo Jorgensen with 62,138. That leaves Biden leading by a margin of 12,670 votes or 0.25%.
The recount revealed no fraud. President Trump would continue to fight the result, even though his wish for a recount was approved due to the percentage margins.
“Working as an engineer throughout my life, I live by the motto that numbers don’t lie,” Raffensperger said. “As secretary of state, I believe that the numbers that we have presented today are correct. The numbers reflect the verdict of the people, not a decision by the secretary of state’s office or of courts or of either campaign.”
Those findings would predictably be unacceptable for President Trump, his legal team, and his supporters. A Trump attorney, Sidney Powell, would appear in an interview on NewsMax, claiming Georgia Governor Brian Kemp was complicit in undermining President Trump’s re-election efforts.
“Georgia’s probably going to be the first state I’m going to blow up and Mr. Kemp and the secretary of state need to go with it,” Powell said. “Because they’re in on the Dominion scam with their last-minute purchase or award of a contract to Dominion of $100 million. The state bureau of investigation for Georgia ought to be looking into financial benefits received by Mr. Kemp and the secretary of state’s family about that time.”
None of those claims are true and fallacious at best. Sunday night, the Trump legal team would distance themselves from Powell after she made those incendiary comments.
“Sidney Powell is practicing law on her own. She is not a member of the Trump Legal Team. She is also not a lawyer for the President in his personal capacity,” Giuliani and another lawyer for Trump, Jenna Ellis, said in a statement.
Saturday afternoon, Trump supporters held a rally at the Georgia State Capitol demanding Governor Kemp, Sec. of State Raffensperger stop stealing the election. Individuals spoke into bullhorns demanding Georgia call a special session with hopes a reversal would be made. As the MAGA-clad, Trump supporters protested, a counter-protest took place across the street demanding America “Refuse Fascism” as that group demanded the will of the people be upheld.
Members of the Atlanta Police Department, as well as the Georgia State Patrol, would form a line to keep both factions separate.
Outgoing State Representative Vernon Jones, a Trump supporter, said, “I’m not giving up or giving in until America has heard my voice on a fair and transparent election. Georgia is the battleground. We must “hold the line!”
Trump tweeted the following on Nov. 21 at 3:34 pm, “Big Rallies all over the Country. The proof pouring in is undeniable. Many more votes than needed. This was a LANDSLIDE!”
As the Trump team ramps up their flawed public relations campaign, the President is on stage two of his attempted coup d’etat as he seeks to de-legitimize the electoral process. Friday afternoon, President Trump invited Michigan state lawmakers to the White House in an effort to overturn the election, he demanded recounts in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, plus asked for a Georgia recount that emphasizes signature-match laws. Stage one was Trump poisoning and undermining the ability for Americans to vote early.
“We are watching … the final days of the mad king, and what he is attempting to do to overturn the constitutional rule in this country, our constitutional traditions, our democratic traditions of fair elections,” famed Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein told CNN anchor Fredricka Whitfield Saturday morning.
“He also is trying to undermine the very basis of trust in our electoral institution — which is essential for having democracy,” Bernstein added. “And Republicans on Capitol Hill … know this. And they are talking with each other now about the rantings and doings of a mad king.”
Meanwhile, Raffensperger, who is a self-styled conservative and Trump supporter, spoke directly to Trump voters last Friday after receiving death threats, and Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue asked for his firing.
“Like other Republicans, I’m disappointed our candidate didn’t win Georgia’s electoral vote. Close elections sow distrust. People feel their side was cheated,” he said.
Loeffler and Perdue are “looking for scapegoats” according to Raffensperger. Even though he said he would vote for the Republicans in the runoff, Raffensperger says, “they better get it done.”
“The Republican Party’s sole job is to win campaigns — and that’s to raise money and turn out voters,” Raffensperger told Axios in an interview on Sunday. “And when they don’t get it done, they look for scapegoats.”
