Defiant Trump insists election was ‘rigged’ at rally for Republicans in Georgia Senate

President TrumpDonald John Trump Court of Appeals accepts White House to embezzle military funds for building Pentagon border walls: Interim spy agency meeting, Biden transition scheduled for early next week Conservative policy director calls section 230 to repeal an ‘existential threat’ to PLUS technology on Saturday, perplexed for Republican candidates in the second round of the Georgia Senate elections at a rally in which he repeatedly and wrongly insisted that he had won the Peach State and the elections of 2020.

Trump spent much of his appearance in Valdosta, Georgia speaking about his presidency and claiming that the election was “rigged” against him, as rally attendees intermittently chanted “stop the flight.”

He urged voters to go to the polls to support the Sens Republicans. Kelly loefflerCampaign staff Kelly Loeffler Loeffler dies in Trump campaigns in car crash as wild card in Georgia runoff Graham reports record transport of 9 million during 2020 campaign MORE and David PerdueDavid PerdueTrump urged Georgia governor to persuade state legislature to overturn Biden state victory: appeals court rejects efforts to block Biden’s victory in Georgia Liberal group broadcasting Grinch-themed ads targeting Loeffler, Perdue PLUS, which he briefly invited on stage, warning that Democrats were trying to “rig” the Senate elections against the GOP.

“You have to go and vote and vote early from December 14th. You have to do it. They cheated and rigged our presidential election, but we will win it anyway. We will always win it. We will always win. And they are also going to try to rig this election, ”Trump told the crowd.

Trump has also targeted Republican leaders in Peach State, including the government. Brian kempBrian KempLoeffler, campaign staff member dies in car crash Trump campaigns as Republicans scramble to thwart calls for a second-round boycott in Georgia MORE, criticizing them for not supporting his own efforts to overturn the election results in Georgia.

Georgia is one of several swing states in which the president-elect Joe bidenJoe Biden Court of Appeals accepts White House to embezzle military funds for building border wall Federal student loan payment suspension extended by month Pentagon: interim meeting between spy agencies, transition by Biden slated for early next week PLUS defeated Trump to win the presidential election.

Biden overtook Trump by a slim margin of less than 13,000 votes in Georgia. In addition, the state carried out two recounts confirming the victory of Biden, who certified his results more than two weeks ago.

Trump, however, refused to concede the election and has repeatedly perpetuated unsubstantiated allegations of widespread voter fraud.

Election officials disputed claims made by Trump and the attorney general William barrBill Barr Kellyanne Conway Recognizes Biden As Apparent Winner Trump’s Pentagon Candidate Alleged Biden’s ‘Coup’: Report Former FBI Attorney Who Falsified Document in Trump-Russia Inquiry Seeks to Avoid prison PLUS told The Associated Press last week that the Justice Department had not found evidence of widespread fraud that would overturn the election results.

Trump and his campaign’s legal efforts to challenge the results have so far fallen flat, though he insisted on Saturday that his lawyers take their case to the Supreme Court.

“This election was rigged and we cannot let that happen to two of Washington’s most respected people. We can’t let this happen again, ”Trump told the crowd.

“Your governor could arrest him very easily if he knew what he was doing. He could stop it very easily, ”Trump said. He claimed without evidence that “hundreds of thousands of illegal votes were cast in every state” and falsely insisted that poll watchers were “kicked out” from polling stations in Pennsylvania.

He later insisted that Kemp “should be ashamed of himself”. At one point, Trump suggested that Rep. Doug collinsDouglas (Doug) Allen Collins Campaigns Trump as Wildcard in Second Round in Georgia McCarthy woos Freedom Caucus with one eye on Perdue, Kemp, of the Georgia Presidency, to appear with Laura Ingraham of Fox News MORE (R-Ga.), Who ran unsuccessfully for the Senate against Loeffler, could run for governor against Kemp, who is due for re-election in 2022.

Trump’s appearance in Georgia, which came two days before the deadline to register to vote in the run-off election, marked his first rally since election day.

The Georgia Senate race will decide control of the Senate, which is currently held by Republicans, and both sides are investing tremendous energy and resources in the contest.

Loeffler will face his Democratic opponent Raphael Warnock and Perdue his Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff in the second round on January 5. Obama attended a virtual rally for Warnock and Ossoff on Friday and Biden has signaled he plans to visit Peach State before the second round.

Republicans expressed concerns ahead of Saturday’s rally that Trump’s attacks on the voting process and Republican politicians in Georgia could undermine the GOP’s efforts to retain Senate seats by dividing the GOP and undermining confidence in the GOP. the elections. Trump’s performance on Saturday night is unlikely to allay those concerns.

Democrats must win both races in order to block the Senate at 50-50, where the vice president-elect Kamala harrisKamala HarrisBiden Officially Wins Electoral College Votes With California Hillicon Valley Certification: Senate Intelligence Committee Leaders Warn Of Chinese National Security Threats | Biden says China must meet “international standards” | House Democrats use Markup app for Trump leadership vote campaigns as wildcard in Georgia runoff READ MORE would serve as a deciding vote. Trump said on Saturday that a GOP loss in both races would cede the Senate majority to Democrats, with the president tacitly acknowledging the reality of Biden’s victory.

“What is at stake in this election is control of the Senate and that really means control of this country,” Trump said. “You will decide whether your children grow up in a socialist country or whether they grow up in a free country.”

Trump spent the first part of Saturday attacking Kemp on Twitter for failing to support his efforts to reverse election results in the state.

The Washington Post reported that Trump called the governor on Saturday to pressure him to call on the Georgia state legislature to overturn Biden’s victory and demand a signature audit of mail-in votes.

Kemp, who alluded to the conversation in a tweet, declined Trump’s requests.

“Between governor @DougDucey of Arizona and Governor @BrianKempGA of Georgia, the Democratic Party could not be happier. They fight harder against us than the radical left Democrats do. If they were with us, we would have won both Arizona and Georgia by now, ”Trump tweeted before arriving in Peach State on Saturday.

“We have received by far more LEGAL votes. All I can do is run, campaign and be a good (great!) President – it’s 100% up to states to run the elections. Republicans will NEVER forget this, ”he tweeted.

Georgia Republican Secretary of State Brad Reffensperger (right), as well as Georgia Republican election official Gabriel Sterling, each issued stern warnings to Trump last week to tone down his language and condemn threats against election officials as he strives to challenge the results.

Trump used some of his remarks to take credit for the rapid development of coronavirus vaccines.

He also insisted the United States is ‘getting around the corner’ on the coronavirus and has pressured states and cities to ease restrictions meant to curb the spread of the virus, despite rising cases. at record levels across the country.

However, coronavirus infections in the United States are on the rise, and Georgia itself set a record for daily coronavirus cases on Friday, reporting 5,023 new confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Saturday’s rally brought together crowds of gathered supporters, without social distancing and limited use of masks.