CNN host calls Republican Senators’ election challenge ‘shameful effort’

CNN host Jake Tapper ridiculed at least 12 Republicans and President Donald Trump on Sunday for attempting a “bloodless coup” to overthrow President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, suggesting that these “traitors” seek chaos from Civil War era.

O state of the Union anchor pointed out that December was the most lethal month in the U.S. during the coronavirus pandemic, but it juxtaposed that data with Trump and Republicans trying to overturn the will of American voters. Tapper said that this Republican Party-led “sedition caucus” is very focused on undermining America’s democratic voting process and is instead positioning itself for potential political campaigns for 2024. The former CNN host said that all 12 Republican senators who pledged to oppose Biden’s victory this week either refused to attend the program or ignored the cable news network’s requests to explain his seemingly seditious actions.

The twelve Republican Party lawmakers plan to prevent a typically innocuous joint congressional vote on Wednesday, where Biden – or any president who wins the election every four years – is expected to have his official vote count passed at the Electoral College.

“We invite all 12 senators involved in the plot of this shameful effort to come to the program this morning to try to defend and explain their position. Each of them refused or did not respond,” said Tapper.

The CNN host quoted an 1861 letter from Ulysses S. Grant to his father, in which the then Army officer explained his reasons for joining the Union Army when South Carolina and other states began to part with the country and provoke the Civil War.

“‘There are only two parties now, traitors and patriots,” “Tapper said on Sunday.

Grant’s 1861 letter, which was to become a Union Army general and later president, said with more context: “Whatever my political views may have been before, I have only one feeling now. That is, we have a government, and laws and a flag, and they must all be upheld. There are only two parties now, traitors and patriots and I want to henceforth be ranked with the last, and I trust, the strongest party. “

Meanwhile, Tapper ridiculed minority leader in the House, Kevin McCarthy, and asked Americans what they thought would have happened to their votes if he were leading a Republican majority. A member of the Republican Party’s “sedition caucus”, Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, appeared on the network Meet the press Sunday, where host Chuck Todd labeled him “arsonist”. Johnson defended his actions in a rant that made reference to Hunter Biden and the mainstream media.

The twelve Republicans calling for the “10-day emergency audit of the election are mainly from southern states that separated from the US and formed the confederation before the Civil War. Texas Senator Ted Cruz, John Kennedy of Louisiana and Josh Hawley of Missouri are among those who say they hope to throw a final obstacle on Biden’s road to the White House this week.

President Trump is calling for massive “wild” protests to take over Washington amid Wednesday’s joint session.

Tapper continued, demanding that Washington and Trump Republicans explain what they are doing to contain the COVID-19 cases, as there have been less than 4 million vaccinations administered across the country.

“What are the president and a large portion of Republicans in Congress focused on? Undermining the election results. Essentially, a bloodless coup. Bringing the Republican Party into a state of turmoil.”

Newsweek contacted Johnson’s office and the White House for further comment on Sunday morning.