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Donald Trump staged his first political rally since losing the presidential election, delivering an inconsistent speech mingled with baseless conspiracy theories about voter fraud and attacks on Republican state officials in Georgia who refused to vote. ‘help reverse the results.
In front of a crowd of thousands of mostly maskless and non-socially distant supporters in southern Georgia, Trump has repeatedly and wrongly asserted that he has won the presidential election, and called on members of the government endowed with “courage and wisdom” to help turn the tide. the result.
The president’s rally, on a cold evening at a regional airport in the small town of Valdosta, preceded a critical second round of the US Senate in January, which will decide control of the upper house and ultimately play a decisive role in the president-elect. Joe Biden’s ability to legislate.
Trump had ostensibly visited Georgia to show his support for the two Republican Senate candidates for the January poll, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, but spent the majority of his speech denouncing the results of the presidential election.
He began his speech, which lasted over 90 minutes, by mistakenly claiming that he won the State of Georgia, which he lost to Joe Biden by over 12,000 votes in a result that was certified. by the Republican Secretary of State over two weeks ago. .
“They cheated and they rigged our presidential election, but we’re still going to win it,” Trump falsely claimed. “And they will try to fake that [Senate] election too. “
The president read a prepared list of absurd evidence that he said underscored his victory. This included the argument that by winning the states of Ohio and Florida he had in fact won the entire election, and also that winning an undisputed Republican primary earlier this year was proof that he won against Biden in November.
Trump lost the Electoral College vote by 306 to 232 and the popular vote by over 7 million. His campaign has launched numerous legal challenges in various states. An Associated Press tally showed that out of about 50 cases brought by the Trump campaign and its allies, more than 30 have been dismissed or dropped, and a dozen are awaiting action.
Trump has launched his fury against Republican Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, the president’s former political ally, who has resisted calls to join Trump’s attempts to reverse the outcome in the state.
“Your governor could arrest him very easily if he knew what he was doing,” Trump told the crowd.
He added: “For some reason your secretary of state and governor are afraid of Stacey Abrams” – a reference to the former Democratic gubernatorial candidate, who is a strong advocate for voting rights and has been instrumental in to boost voter turnout and secure the state for Biden.
The rally came hours after the Washington Post reported that Trump pressured Kemp to overturn the state’s election results in a phone call on Saturday morning. Trump pushed Kemp to call a special session of the state legislature with the aim of sending Trump to support presidential voters when the electoral college meets on December 14. Kemp denied the request, the Post reported.
Trump then made a similar request on Twitter in the afternoon.
The president has also demanded a signature audit of mail-in votes in the state, which Kemp does not have the authority to authorize.
The rally carried features of many Trump campaign events of the 2020 election season, including a ritual hoot from the assembled press, a soundtrack that included Queen’s hit song, We Are the Champions, and vocals from ” four more years ”. But despite continually claiming to have won, Trump seems a little more aware that he is due to step down on January 20.
At one point, Trump described “what we would have done over the next four years” with reference to foreign policy related to Iran and China.
And later, if he thought he had lost the presidential election, he would be “a very lovable loser”.
“I would go to Florida… I would take it easy,” he said.
Trump also made a number of bizarre and inconsistent commercials throughout his speech, professing at one point, “I love cucumbers.”
At another point, he bragged about non-existent “hydrosonic” missiles.
“Hypersonic missiles. We have hypersonic and hydrosonic. Do you know what hydrosonic is? Water, ”he says.
The president eventually pivoted to the Georgia Senate race and invited Perdue and Loeffler to the stage for a few brief remarks.
None of the candidates reiterated Trump’s baseless claims about voter fraud, with Perdue coming closest to speaking directly to Trump and saying, “We’re going to fight and win these seats and make sure you get a fair and square agreement in Georgia. “
As Perdue spoke, the crowd chanted, “Fight for Trump!”
The moment underscored the difficulties Trump’s continued denial of the outcome poses for the Republican Party. Some of the president’s allies, including attorneys Sidney Powell and Lin Wood, have urged Republican voters in Georgia not to run for the Senate to protest the presidential result.
And although neither Loeffler nor Perdue have recognized Joe Biden as president-elect, they argue that the Senate race in Georgia is crucial for Republicans to retain control of some form of power, in itself a tacit recognition that Biden has. won.
“We have a job to do here, Georgia,” Loeffler told the crowd at a lukewarm reception. “America is counting on us… if you don’t vote we will lose this country.”
If Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock win in both Senate races, they will effectively take over the chamber, in a 50-50 spli split, where Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will hold the voting power. A Republican victory in either race would ensure the party retains control of the Senate, marking a blow to the legislative agenda of the new Biden administration.
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