As of Friday morning, it looks like American voters have successfully taken out U.S. President Donald Trump after four years, which would make him one of just a handful of U.S. presidents who failed to (legally) secure a second term. And that’s probably why Team Trump is reverting back to what they know best: spreading lies on Twitter and badgering Republican leaders to stand up for the president, who has already launched a number of flimsy lawsuits in key states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada, and Georgia.
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Trump’s large adult sons — Donald Jr. and Eric (who are not quite as large as Barron, it should be noted) — are taking their fight over control of the White House directly to top Republicans, who they’ve accused of “cower[ing] to the media mob.” In a series of tweets on Thursday, Donald Jr. directed his anger at Republicans who are expected to run in 2024. He questioned the “total lack of action from virtually all of the ‘2024 GOP hopefuls,’” and added that, with the exception of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, most other Republican leaders haven’t stepped up “to show that they’re willing & able to fight” for Trump.
The same day, Don Jr. riled up a crowd of Trump supporters outside the GOP's Georgia headquarters, stating, “The Republican Party without a backbone is gone, and anyone that doesn't fight should go with it.” Trump’s other son Eric made similar comments on Twitter, with demands to know why Republicans weren’t standing up for the president. “Have some backbone,” he warned. “Our voters will never forget you if your (sic) sheep!”
And it appears the Trump sons’ public condemnations worked. Several Republicans who were previously silent about Trump’s claims of election fraud — including Sens. Tom Cotton (Ar.) and Rick Scott (Fl.), and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley — spoke up in his favor soon after Don Jr.’s comments.
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Don Jr. and Eric’s public shaming came just a few hours before the president held a press conference at the White House where he made a number of false statements in his continued attempts to cast doubt on the electoral process.
“If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us,” Trump said, referring to ballots that were still being counted after November 3. The coronavirus pandemic led to a surge in mail-in ballots this year that are still being counted across the country, and there is no evidence of widespread election fraud. “If you count the votes that came in late — we‘re looking at them very strongly, but a lot of votes came in late.”
But people are watching the president, as he tries to take yet another page from the authoritarian handbook. And they’re not going to let him get away with it so easily. Millions of people nationwide are expected to take the streets on Saturday to show Trump that if his office won’t enforce the election results, they will.
Mr. President: It's become increasingly clear that you’re fired, and you can go now.