President Trump addressed crowds of supporters at a rally in Washington, DC on Wednesday, as Congress prepared to certify the electoral victory of rival President-elect Joe Biden.
Saying that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against him, he promised not to budge, even if the inauguration day is two weeks from now.
“We will never give in,” Trump told the crowd. “You do not grant when there is theft.
“This year, they rigged an election. They manipulated as if they had never manipulated an election before, ”continued Trump, referring to what he calls“ fake news media ”and social media companies.
“And by the way, last night they didn’t do a bad job,” he added, referring to the runoff elections in Georgia that decided the fate of Senate control.
One Democratic candidate, Reverend Raphael Warnock, has already been declared the winner of his race, and the other, Jon Ossoff, is leading the polls by a narrow margin.
Trump is talking about a stage framed by signs for the “Save the America March” on a podium flanked by American flags fluttering in the cold DC breeze.
As with his “Make America Great Again” rallies that have become the hallmark of two presidential campaigns, Trump is being welcomed by a sea of supporters dressed in red baseball caps and star spangled T-shirts.
His comments were preceded by a pre-recorded highlight roll of campaigns and speeches over the years and a heavy playlist of classic rock, including Phil Collins’s sinister “In the Air Tonight” juxtaposed with “Don’t Stop Believin” ‘from Journey “.
Trump’s demonstration came when Congress was set to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election, which the president repeatedly said was marked by organized and widespread fraud, without providing evidence.
Speakers who spoke to the crowds before the president included his son, Donald Trump Jr., freshman from Dep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina and personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
Prior to his diagnosis with the coronavirus, Giuliani served as the architect of several campaign lawsuits to overturn Biden’s victory, most of which were not upheld in court.
Wednesday’s certification vote served as a barrier between Republican lawmakers, with Trump loyalists like Sens. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, respectively from Texas and Missouri, vowing to challenge the results, with Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton among those who came forward to acknowledge Biden’s victory as legitimate.
Thousands of supporters traveled from around the country to the event, with local officials and Congressional security preparing for possible unrest.
A judge earlier this week barred Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, the leader of the far-right group Proud Boys in the nation’s capital, citing charges against him that he vandalized a Black Lives Matter banner in a historic church and was arrested for packing capacity of firearms magazines.