President Donald Trump attacked some Republican lawmakers on Thursday on social media for not accepting his unfounded allegations of electoral fraud.
Trump refused to grant the election to President-elect Joe Biden, who defeated Trump in the popular and electoral vote. Trump has repeatedly stated that widespread electoral manipulation was to blame for his apparent loss. While some Republican Party members, including Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, recognized the next Biden administration, others joined Trump’s allegations. On Thursday, Trump gave a warning to Republican senators that he considered disloyal.
“I saved at least 8 Republican senators, including Mitch, from losing in the last Rigged (for president) election,” Trump tweeted on Thursday. “Now they (almost everyone) sit and watch me fight against a dishonest and cruel opponent, the radical Left Democrats. I will NEVER FORGET!”
I saved at least 8 Republican senators, including Mitch, from losing in the last Rigged election (for president). Now they (almost everyone) sit and watch me fight a corrupt and cruel enemy, the radical Left Democrats. I will never forget!
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 24, 2020
McConnell finally acknowledged Biden’s victory in December during a speech in the Senate.
“Many of us expected the presidential election to produce a different outcome,” said McConnell, “but our system of government has processes in place to determine who will be sworn in on January 20. The Electoral College has spoken.”
Trump criticized McConnell in a December tweet. “Mitch, 75,000 votes, a record for an incumbent president (by far),” wrote Trump. “Too early to give up. The Republican Party must finally learn to fight. People are angry!”
Newsweek contacted McConnell’s office for comment.
Al Drago / Getty
Although Trump’s legal team filed several lawsuits seeking to overturn the election results, most of those lawsuits have been dismissed. Some Republican Party senators said they would challenge Congress’s electoral vote count, scheduled to take place in January, in hopes of securing a second term for Trump.
South Dakota Republican Senator John Thune said on Monday that the Republican Party’s expected challenge to the elections would “fall like a body shot” in the Senate.
“I just don’t think it makes a lot of sense to put everyone in this when you know what the end result will be,” Thune told CNN.
The next day, Trump described Thune as “Mitch’s boy” and a “RINO [Republican in Name Only]”in a Twitter post.
“Republicans in the Senate forget so quickly,” wrote Trump. “At the moment, they would lose 8 seats without me supporting them in the last election. RINO John Thune, ‘Mitch’s boy’, should just let that happen. South Dakota doesn’t like weaknesses. He will take precedence in 2022, political career closed !!! “
Although some Republican Party members in the House of Representatives said they would contest the electoral vote in January, a representative must be accompanied by a US senator to formally defend the results. It is not yet clear whether a senator will come forward to present a challenge.
According to the Associated Press, Biden won the Electoral College with 306 electoral votes against 232 Trump’s electoral votes. A candidate must receive at least 270 electoral votes to be considered the winner of the presidential election.