Only a handful of congressional Republicans have spoken out in defense of President Donald Trump’s cries of election fraud and calls to stop the counting in his race for reelection, which has drawn the wrath of the President’s sons, who tweeted their frustration and anger about that lack of vocal support from elected Republicans.
“Where is the GOP?! Our voters will never forget…,” Eric Trump tweeted.
“The total lack of action from virtually all the ‘2024 GOP hopefuls’ is pretty amazing,” complained Donald Trump Jr.
Some House and Senate Republican leaders and rank-and-file members sidestepped the controversial charges, instead calling for all votes to be counted in a legal manner set out separately by each of the 50 states with the backing of the judiciary if there are problems that need to be resolved.
“Taking days to count legally cast votes is NOT fraud,” tweeted Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican of Florida who says he is considering running for the White House in 2024.
“The courts will decide disputes,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said at a news conference Wednesday when asked about Trump’s concerns. “That’s the way we do it in this country. Having close disputed elections is not unusual.”
Asked about Trump’s calls to stop the counting, Republican Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri told the Washington Post Thursday it should continue.
“I think we have to count every legally cast vote. I agree with the President, if he thinks there’s a reason in some states that ballots are being counted outside what the law of that state allows, but I don’t agree that we can stop the count,” Blunt said.
Some of those who have publicly backed Trump largely argued that transparency is key in the vote count but avoided a full-throated defense of Trump’s allegations.
“We need transparency,” tweeted GOP Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana.
“Federal law should guarantee transparency in how vote is counted!” tweeted Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri.
“What the President wants to make sure is that every legal vote is counted. The people vote up until Election Day, not the days after as others would have. That’s what the President refers to,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said at a news conference Wednesday. “We want to make sure it’s legal, it’s fair, and that every legal vote is counted, and that’s what we’re working towards. But I don’t think people should vote after the election though.”
But other Republicans who waded into the topic did so with dry statements aimed at ensuring all votes are counted:
“Under our Constitution, state legislatures set the rules and states administer our elections. We should respect that process and ensure that all ballots cast in accordance with state laws are counted. It’s that simple. I hope we can reach a final resolution as quickly as possible,” said Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican from Ohio.
“As we await all the results of the election, I urge everyone to be patient. Each state has different deadlines to receive ballots and a process in place to count those ballots,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska. “It is critical that we give election officials time to complete their jobs, and that we ensure all lawfully cast ballots are allowed and counted. The results will be known when all those ballots are counted.”
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