Throughout his presidency, Donald Trump has demanded loyalty from fellow Republicans and most repeatedly obliged. However, in recent weeks, as Trump has aggressively attempted to overturn the election results, his actions have caused previously supportive Republicans to actively push back.
The most significant example is Sunday’s release of a recording of Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s Saturday telephone call with Trump, in which the president is heard urging him to help “find 11,780 votes” – the number Trump would need to defeat President-elect Joe Biden in Georgia – and suggesting “there’s nothing wrong with saying … that you’ve recalculated”.
Prior to the leak of the call, Raffensperger rebutted the president’s characterisation of their conversation on Twitter saying: “Respectfully, President Trump: What you’re saying is not true. The truth will come out.”
Raffensperger, a Republican who strongly supported Trump’s election and re-election, has been the target of Trump’s ire since November’s election and has been criticised by the president for not investigating various unfounded rumours and claims regarding the voting in Georgia.
Raffensperger told the president on Saturday’s call and repeated on Monday that Georgia officials and investigators have debunked those rumours, to Trump’s disbelief.
Did you consider it a lawful request when the president asked you to find the votes?” Raffensperger was asked by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos during an interview on Monday morning.
“I’m not a lawyer. All I know is that we’re gonna follow the law, follow the process. Truth matters, and we’ve been fighting these rumours for the last two months,” Raffensperger said.
Source: Aljazeerah News