6th November, 2020
Not all members of President Trump’s Republican party are on the same boat with him over his persistent claims that the US presidential election is being fraudulently rigged to the advantage of Joe Bidden, his Democratic challenger.
Trump who was trailing his rival with 214 to 264 electoral college votes, according to the Associated Press tally had on Thursday night again questioned the integrity of Tuesday’s presidential election and doubled down on his allegation of fraud against Democrats.
Trump said he was hearing “horror stories” about how Democrats were manipulating the exercise, especially mail-in ballots in an address to the nation.
But leading Republicans have renounced the President’s comments while insisting that every vote must be counted.
“Counting every vote is at the heart of democracy,” Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, wrote on Twitter, without mentioning Trump directly. “That process is often long, and, for those running, frustrating. The votes will be counted.”
“There is no defense for the President’s comments tonight undermining our Democratic process,” Hogan wrote on Twitter.
“America is counting the votes, and we must respect the results as we always have before. No election or person is more important than our Democracy,” said Maryland Governor, Larry Hogan, one of three Republican governors who did not vote for Trump.
In the same vein, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., called on the president and his allies to stop spreading false information about voting.
“We want every vote counted, yes every legal vote (of course). But, if you have legit concerns about fraud present EVIDENCE and take it to court. STOP Spreading debunked misinformation … This is getting insane.” The Trump campaign has filed lawsuits in several states alleging Republican observers had not gained sufficient access to vote-counting locations. State courts quickly dismissed suits in Michigan and Nevada.
In his own intervention, Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, urged more Republicans to speak out.