by Derek Major
November 6, 2020
Republicans Begin To Break With Trump After Watching Reelection Prospects Dwindle
Republicans are starting to break with President Donald Trump as Joe Biden has taken the lead in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Nevada as the election count continues for the third day.
While President Trump does everything he can to rile his base, including falsely declaring victory and railing on Twitter to stop the count, some Republicans have read the tea leaves and publicly rebuked the president.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has largely avoided criticizing the President while he’s been in office, told reporters Wednesday that “claiming you’ve won the election is different from finishing the counting.”
According to NBC News, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who helped Trump prepare for the first presidential debate and caught the coronavirus for his efforts, told ABC News that Trump’s claims of fraud and Biden stealing the vote are unfounded.
“There’s just no basis to make that argument tonight,” Christie said about Trump’s claims on ABC News. “There just isn’t. All these votes have to be counted that are in now.
“You have to let the process play itself out before you judge it to be flawed. And by prematurely doing this, if there is a flaw later, he has undercut his own credibility,” Christie continued. “So I think it’s a bad strategic decision, it’s a bad political decision, and it’s not the kind of decision you would expect someone to make tonight who holds the position he holds.”
Trump conducted a somber press briefing
Wednesday night throwing out everything from baseless claims to flat out lies, but his words seemed to fall on deaf ears outside of his most loyal supporters.
Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) also rebuked Trump’s claims,
tweeting “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.”
Texas Republican Will Hurd expressed his opinion on Trump’s statements, saying on
Twitter Thursday “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. Every American should have his or her vote counted.”
