Trumpler Goes Kaput
Published in Kommersant
(Russia) on 7 November 2020
by Alexey Naumov (link to original)
(Russia) on 7 November 2020
by Alexey Naumov (link to original)
Translated from
by Nikita Gubankov.
Edited by Laurence Bouvard.
Donald Trump is losing but not giving up
In the United States, the last ballots are being counted. However, U.S. President Donald Trump appears to have decided to launch a second term without waiting for the final vote count and is prepared to appeal the early call of the election for Joe Biden. According to Politico sources, Trump has already decided on plans for the coming months.
“If you count the legal votes, I easily win. If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us.” At that point, ABC News interrupted its broadcast of Trump’s Tuesday evening statement. Soon, MSNBC, NBC, CNBC and CBS followed, as did USA Today. Fox News, loyal to the president, did not interrupt broadcasting, nor did a more critical CNN.
“We’re not witnessing anyone stealing anything tonight. This is democracy and we asked the American people to be patient,” explained ABC News anchor David Muir. “Here we are again in the unusual position of not only interrupting the president of the United States but correcting the president of the United States. There are no illegal votes that we know of, there has been no Trump victory that we know of,” said, in turn, MSNBC host Brian Williams.
The president continued his public address – the first since election day – with a tirade on Twitter. He wrote: “I easily WIN the Presidency of the United States with LEGAL VOTES CAST. The OBSERVERS were not allowed, in any way, shape, or form, to do their job and therefore, votes accepted during this period must be determined to be ILLEGAL VOTES. U.S. Supreme Court should decide!” Twitter has routinely flagged his post as “disputed” and as that which “might be misleading.”
Trump did not go into details. In particular, he did not substantiate why the votes mailed in after the election should be declared illegal. The procedure for receiving and processing such votes is determined by each state’s local legislation, without taking into account the opinion of the federal center.
The lawsuits filed by Republicans on the ground had limited success, even though the Republican candidate’s camp sent some of their most influential aides to the states in question.
In particular, Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s aide, who has worked with him since 2016, was sent to Philadelphia, the capital of swing state Pennsylvania. Former Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell was sent to Las Vegas – the largest city of Nevada, another swing state.
In Philadelphia, the U.S. District Court Judge Paul Diamond (appointed by George W. Bush) seemed genuinely surprised that he was in charge of coordinating the number of poll watchers between the Democrats and Republicans. “I don’t understand entirely why this couldn’t have been agreed to absent judicial intervention except for the fact that it’s a very bitterly contested matter. I understand that. If we can show the world that both sides can act reasonably or resolve this, that would be wonderful,” he said. Mr. Diamond has denied a request from Republicans to stop counting votes in the absence of Republican observers and urged parties to agree on the distribution of observers themselves.
The day before, a local court ordered that all observers, candidates and their representatives in Philadelphia be permitted to observe the counting process from two meters, which the Republicans considered a great victory.
In another swing state, Georgia, Trump’s aides challenged election officials in Chatham County. Republican lawyers found two witnesses who claimed they saw 53 ballots submitted to poll workers after 7 p.m., when the state’s deadline for receiving absentee ballots had passed. However, the witnesses refused to testify in court, and the staff members reported that all 53 ballots in question were time-stamped, indicating that they had been submitted before the deadline. The judge took 10 seconds in announcing the decision: Clearly, the lawsuit was dismissed.
In Michigan, the court also dismissed Trump’s challenge for greater transparency in the vote count, as the count had almost been completed.
While Trump’s aides were fighting against dozens of allegedly fraudulent ballots, the counting of votes continued in the states, further and further distancing the incumbent president from a second term. As time went on, Pennsylvania and Georgia, which had remained red almost since voting day, began to turn blue. That is, Trump’s advantage was replaced by the superiority of his Democratic opponent. If Biden maintains his lead, it will be enough for him to win, and the fate of the Wisconsin vote, where the recount has already been announced, will not matter.*
Trump himself, apparently, does not intend to face the reality: According to a Fox source, he is not ready to admit defeat, at least for now.
According to Politico’s sources in Trump’s administration, he is going to continue his usual political activities – in particular, in the near future he may fire Defense Secretary Mark Esper and FBI Director Christopher Wray. In addition, according to those sources, the president may sign a series of executive orders aimed at gaining popularity among his core voter base – on a “trade war” with China and on a number of cultural issues. He also plans to resume his travel schedule. Meanwhile, his team will continue to appeal the results, demand recounts, and work with the media to continue promoting a rigged election view.
“Just as he promised the American people, President Trump is fighting hard for a free and fair election while at the same time running the country and carrying out his duties to put America First,” White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere said in a statement.
*Editor's note: On Nov. 7, 2020, Biden defeated Trump after winning Pennsylvania and was elected 46th president of the United States
In the United States, the last ballots are being counted. However, U.S. President Donald Trump appears to have decided to launch a second term without waiting for the final vote count and is prepared to appeal the early call of the election for Joe Biden. According to Politico sources, Trump has already decided on plans for the coming months.
“If you count the legal votes, I easily win. If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us.” At that point, ABC News interrupted its broadcast of Trump’s Tuesday evening statement. Soon, MSNBC, NBC, CNBC and CBS followed, as did USA Today. Fox News, loyal to the president, did not interrupt broadcasting, nor did a more critical CNN.
“We’re not witnessing anyone stealing anything tonight. This is democracy and we asked the American people to be patient,” explained ABC News anchor David Muir. “Here we are again in the unusual position of not only interrupting the president of the United States but correcting the president of the United States. There are no illegal votes that we know of, there has been no Trump victory that we know of,” said, in turn, MSNBC host Brian Williams.
The president continued his public address – the first since election day – with a tirade on Twitter. He wrote: “I easily WIN the Presidency of the United States with LEGAL VOTES CAST. The OBSERVERS were not allowed, in any way, shape, or form, to do their job and therefore, votes accepted during this period must be determined to be ILLEGAL VOTES. U.S. Supreme Court should decide!” Twitter has routinely flagged his post as “disputed” and as that which “might be misleading.”
Trump did not go into details. In particular, he did not substantiate why the votes mailed in after the election should be declared illegal. The procedure for receiving and processing such votes is determined by each state’s local legislation, without taking into account the opinion of the federal center.
The lawsuits filed by Republicans on the ground had limited success, even though the Republican candidate’s camp sent some of their most influential aides to the states in question.
In particular, Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s aide, who has worked with him since 2016, was sent to Philadelphia, the capital of swing state Pennsylvania. Former Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell was sent to Las Vegas – the largest city of Nevada, another swing state.
In Philadelphia, the U.S. District Court Judge Paul Diamond (appointed by George W. Bush) seemed genuinely surprised that he was in charge of coordinating the number of poll watchers between the Democrats and Republicans. “I don’t understand entirely why this couldn’t have been agreed to absent judicial intervention except for the fact that it’s a very bitterly contested matter. I understand that. If we can show the world that both sides can act reasonably or resolve this, that would be wonderful,” he said. Mr. Diamond has denied a request from Republicans to stop counting votes in the absence of Republican observers and urged parties to agree on the distribution of observers themselves.
The day before, a local court ordered that all observers, candidates and their representatives in Philadelphia be permitted to observe the counting process from two meters, which the Republicans considered a great victory.
In another swing state, Georgia, Trump’s aides challenged election officials in Chatham County. Republican lawyers found two witnesses who claimed they saw 53 ballots submitted to poll workers after 7 p.m., when the state’s deadline for receiving absentee ballots had passed. However, the witnesses refused to testify in court, and the staff members reported that all 53 ballots in question were time-stamped, indicating that they had been submitted before the deadline. The judge took 10 seconds in announcing the decision: Clearly, the lawsuit was dismissed.
In Michigan, the court also dismissed Trump’s challenge for greater transparency in the vote count, as the count had almost been completed.
While Trump’s aides were fighting against dozens of allegedly fraudulent ballots, the counting of votes continued in the states, further and further distancing the incumbent president from a second term. As time went on, Pennsylvania and Georgia, which had remained red almost since voting day, began to turn blue. That is, Trump’s advantage was replaced by the superiority of his Democratic opponent. If Biden maintains his lead, it will be enough for him to win, and the fate of the Wisconsin vote, where the recount has already been announced, will not matter.*
Trump himself, apparently, does not intend to face the reality: According to a Fox source, he is not ready to admit defeat, at least for now.
According to Politico’s sources in Trump’s administration, he is going to continue his usual political activities – in particular, in the near future he may fire Defense Secretary Mark Esper and FBI Director Christopher Wray. In addition, according to those sources, the president may sign a series of executive orders aimed at gaining popularity among his core voter base – on a “trade war” with China and on a number of cultural issues. He also plans to resume his travel schedule. Meanwhile, his team will continue to appeal the results, demand recounts, and work with the media to continue promoting a rigged election view.
“Just as he promised the American people, President Trump is fighting hard for a free and fair election while at the same time running the country and carrying out his duties to put America First,” White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere said in a statement.
*Editor's note: On Nov. 7, 2020, Biden defeated Trump after winning Pennsylvania and was elected 46th president of the United States
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