Watch the CBSN documentary, “Hindsight is 2020: An Unprecedented Election”, in the video player above.
Votes are counted. The president knows that. In a few days, Joe Biden will be inaugurated.
But for some of President Trump’s most diehard supporters, none of this proves that Biden won a fair election and will be the legitimate 46th president of the United States. Some still do not believe that Biden will take the oath on January 20.
“There is no way for me or many, many, many others to recognize this latest election,” said Couy Griffin, a county commissioner in New Mexico who founded a group called Cowboys for Trump. Griffin is one of several Trump supporters featured in the new CBSN documentary “Hindsight Is 2020: An Unprecedented Election”.
“I will never accept a presidency from Biden,” he said.
When asked who would be on the Capitol steps for the inaugurationGriffin replied, “I don’t know. Your guess is as good as mine.” (Griffin, which was broadcast live on the same steps during the January 6 rebellion, now stuck to enter the restricted area.)
After months of lies and conspiracy theories on the results of the vote, it is clear that Mr. Trump’s false narrative about a stolen election he stayed with a core group of his voters. And even the sight of Mr. Biden taking office will not change your mind.
The deadly turmoil on the United States Capitol by Trump supporters trying to prevent the counting of electoral votes that confirmed Biden’s victory showed how literal and dangerous this belief has become.
The CBS News poll released this week revealed that only 31% of Republican voters consider Biden to be the legitimate winner of the 2020 election. About two-thirds of the total voters and two-thirds of independents consider Biden’s victory legitimate, while virtually all Democrats – 96% – see Biden as the legitimate winner.
The data indicates that, as Biden takes office, there are potentially millions of Americans who are not yet ready to accept his presidency.
Harry Formanek, a Trump supporter in Boca Raton, Florida, did not even think of hypothetical questions about Biden’s presidency, saying there was no reason to discuss it.
“Joe Biden will never be president of the United States”, Formanek, who also supports QAnon Conspiracies, he told CBSN. “It will never happen. It will not happen.”
Several state and local elected officials of the Republican Party continue to say the same.
Mr. Trump began to attack the integrity of the 2020 Election months before election day arrives, spreading falsehoods to cast doubt on ballots sent by mail and telling supporters that “the only way to lose this election is if it is rigged”. On election night, as votes were still being counted in many states, Mr. Trump falsely declared himself the winner.
Later that day, the first big Facebook page “Stop the Steal” appeared, created by the leader of the conservative non-profit organization Women For America First. Facebook closed in less than 24 hours due to “worrying calls for violence from some members of the group”, but by then it had already attracted more than 350,000 followers – and it became a rallying cry.
Trump supporters in decisive states shouted “Stop the theft” outside polling stations, claiming that the late ballot count – which benefited Biden in large part – was part of a plot against the president. These protests continued online and in person, and “Stop theft” signs were seen in the entire crowd that invaded the Capitol on January 6.
Since November 7, more than 60 electoral processes for Trump and allied groups have been shelved, sometimes by judges he has appointed. O Supreme Court rejected quickly a challenge to electoral results. Recounts and audits in several states found no systematic fraud, such as that of Trump himself Department of Justice confirmed.
All 50 states have certified their election results, which Electoral college votes were presented on December 14 and on January 6, Vice President Pence counted those votes in a joint session of Congress to confirm Biden’s victory.
But as all of this happened, “Stop the Steal” became an alternative reality that was strengthening itself. For his believers, every step that supported Biden’s victory was just proof that the theft is even greater than they thought.
For Formanek, the past two months have only convinced him that federal courts, state and republican election officials in Congress are part of the theft or powerless to stop it. After watching the process unfold, “I only became stronger in my opposition” to the election results, he said.
In December, hours before the Supreme Court denied that electoral process, Formanek told CBSN that he would trust Trump’s word about the country’s highest court if she decided against him.
“These Supreme Court judges are human beings,” he said, explaining that he believes they would be “scared for their lives” and yielding to pressure from Trump’s opponents.
Formanek was an election official on election day and notes that he did not witness any fraud at the polling station where he worked.
After the attack on the Capitol, Trump finally released a video recognizing that a new government will be sworn in on January 20 and promising a “smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power”. Biden has reached out to disappointed Trump supporters, calling for an end to the division and stating in his victory speech, “Let’s give each other a chance.”
But there is no sign that the movement is slowing, and the threat of more violence on election results remains.
The mayor of Washington, DC urged Americans not to attend the inauguration, and the Capitol building is now protected by thousands of National Guard troops. Biden canceled a plan to travel to Washington on Amtrak for security reasons.
Griffin, the founder of Cowboys for Trump, broadcast live while at the January 6 rally that became a riot, warning of more demonstrations and “running blood” on the Capitol.
He insisted that he did not support the violence, but repeatedly hinted that there could be more violence to oppose Biden’s entry into the White House.
“The left is always talking about resistance,” he said. “The left didn’t even see resistance until the right came to life, I guarantee it. Because the left takes weapons. weapons. “
Griffin was taken into custody on Sunday after threatening to return to Washington with firearms to protest the possession. Investigators say he told FBI agents that “there is no option that is off the table in favor of freedom”.