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WASHINGTON – Forget Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Or the impeachment of Trump for asking Ukraine to dig up Joe Biden.
The biggest political scandal we’ve ever seen in this country is arguably playing out before our eyes: President Trump and his allies are trying to reverse the election results of a contest he lost.
The system does not appear to be working. The Wayne County (Detroit) Council of Solicitors certified its election results last night after its two Republican members initially refused their support. (Biden won Wayne County by 68% to 31% and Michigan State by 148,000 votes.)
But failure does not erase the magnitude of the scandal – nor the fact that the President of the United States has encouraged it every step of the way.
Consider the last 24 hours:
- The two Republican members of the Wayne County Prospecting Board voted against certification of his election results before turning the tide, and Trump praised the action: “Sensational! Michigan has just refused to certify election results! To have courage is a beautiful thing. The United States is proud!
- In Nevada – a state Trump lost by 2.4 percentage points – the president’s campaign team has filed a lawsuit asking a judge to declare Trump the winner or reject the state’s election results.
- In Pennsylvania – which Biden won by more than 82,000 votes – Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, was in court asking a judge to overturn the state’s results. (“Basically, you’re asking this court to invalidate some 6.8 million votes, thus depriving every voter in the Commonwealth,” the judge said.)
- And to top it off, the president on Tuesday sacked the federal government’s cybersecurity chief, who had debunked many conspiracy theories the Trump team had promoted.
Bottom line: Trump’s efforts to overturn the election have failed and have yet to gain significant traction. But it’s still disturbing to watch, especially with so many elected Republicans remaining silent.
And it provides a roadmap for someone else to do better next time.
That said, we’ll know at 6:00 p.m. ET if Trump is going to put his money where it is – that is, pay the required $ 7.9 million for the Wisconsin recount by the state deadline. ‘today.
Tweet of the day
Downloading data: the numbers you need to know today
5,713,311: Joe Biden’s advance in the popular vote at time of publication.
11,440,082: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States, according to the most recent data from NBC News and health officials. (That’s 160,231 more than yesterday morning.)
249 820: The number of deaths in the United States from the virus so far. (That’s 1627 more than yesterday morning.)
170.32 million: The number of coronavirus tests that have been administered in the United States so far, according to researchers from the COVID Tracking Project.
76,823: The number of people currently hospitalized with the coronavirus 87: the age of Senator Chuck Grassley, the second oldest senator and the one who tested positive for the coronavirus yesterday.
12 millions: The number of Americans who could lose their unemployment aid by the end of the year if Congress does not act.
95 percent: The effectiveness rate of Pfizer’s vaccine, for which he hopes to get approval “within days.”
48: The number of days until the Senate second round on January 5.
63: The number of days until the day of the inauguration.
Team Biden: delayed transition could hinder vaccine distribution
The General Service Administration has yet to sign a confirmation letter to officially start the process of transitioning from a Trump administration to a Biden administration. And now President-elect Joe Biden’s coronavirus advisory committee says the delay in transition could delay Americans’ ability to obtain a Covid-19 vaccine.
NBC’s Marianna Sotomayor reports: Dr David Kessler, Dr Vivek Murthy and Dr Marcella Nunez-Smith have all strongly emphasized that without full communication and coordination with the Trump administration and national health organizations, the Biden administration will have to do facing significant challenges in vaccine distribution, step up rapid testing and strengthen the necessary personal protective equipment. Kessler also noted that the lack of preparation can cost the public trust of the Biden administration if it doesn’t get the answer early on.
Kessler said: “Dr. Fauci said this week that the refusal of GSA administrators to conduct an audit could delay vaccine distribution. Our team cannot communicate with them. We make our own recommendations to the president-elect for the same task. The sooner Biden’s transition team can meet with officials working on these issues, the more seamless the transition will be with the American people.
Georgia Runoff Watch by Ben Kamisar
In today’s Runoff Watch, Georgia Democrat Jon Ossoff hugs President-elect Joe Biden.
Ossoff has a new spot this week, in which he defends Biden by claiming that helping him succeed is “the only way to beat this virus,” and echoing Biden’s expert approach to tackling the coronavirus pandemic.
“But David Produce says he will do everything in his power to make sure Joe Biden fails, just like he tried to do with President Obama,” Ossoff said in the direct-to-camera spot. .
As Georgia Republicans fight each other day after day, week after week, the Democratic side appears much more united.
The cover: it’s complicated
Don’t miss yesterday’s capsule, when we looked at the highly unusual political environment in Georgia.
ICYMI: What else is going on in the world
So wait, what exactly happened in Wayne County, Michigan last night?
ProPublica reports that the Trump campaign has been pressuring the GOP Secretary of State in Georgia for some time now.
Biden will meet with healthcare workers virtually today; Trump doesn’t have any public events.
Some GOP governors are going back and implementing mask mandates.
Congress does not seem very optimistic about a new relief program.
POLITICO looks at the post-election identity crisis Democrats are experiencing in Florida.
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