Last week, with results showing Democratic challenger Joe Biden edging closer to victory, Trump made a series of allegations without evidence on Thursday night in a speech that was widely condemned.
Senator Mitt Romney, the former Republican presidential candidate who has been strongly critical of Trump, was among those speaking out.
"He is wrong to say that the election was rigged, corrupt and stolen," Romney said in a statement, while noting that Trump nevertheless had the right to pursue legal remedies if he had evidence of fraud.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) November 6, 2020
"Doing so damages the cause of freedom here and around the world, weakens the institutions that lie at the foundation of the republic, and recklessly inflames destructive and dangerous passions."
But Romney's stance was not adopted by party leaders.
On Friday morning, one of the country's most powerful Republicans, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, released a vague statement that did not condemn the president's bid to sow doubt over the counting process.
Here’s how this must work in our great country: Every legal vote should be counted. Any illegally-submitted ballots must not. All sides must get to observe the process. And the courts are here to apply the laws & resolve disputes.
— Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) November 6, 2020
That's how Americans' votes decide the result.
"Here's how this must work in our great country: Every legal vote should be counted," he tweeted.
"Any illegally submitted ballots must not. All sides must get to observe the process. And the courts are here to apply the laws and resolve disputes."
Trump, after a tweet silence of 14 hours when he stubbornly announced that he had “WON THE ELECTION, BY A LOT,” resumed his online onslaught on Sunday, with a deluge of remarks that showed he does not intend to give in any time soon.
“We believe these people are thieves. The big city machines are corrupt. This was a stolen election. Best pollster in Britain wrote this morning that this clearly was a stolen election, that it’s impossible to imagine that Biden outran Obama in some of these states.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 8, 2020
Court challenges filed
Trump is either involved in or has announced nine court cases aimed at turning the tide of elections that went wrong for him. Five are in Pennsylvania and four in other battleground states.
He has reason to be scared of becoming an ordinary citizen again.
After he returns to normal life, Trump may be called to answer allegations of crimes involving obstruction of justice, violating the emolument clause of the constitution, and tax fraud, among others.
He would no longer enjoy the “executive privilege” that comes with being the president of the United States, nor the protection of the attorney general, William Barr, who has morphed into being Trump’s personal lawyer rather than being the nation’s top cop.
As a result, it serves Trump to create even more chaos and uncertainty in order to remain in the Oval Office.
Being expelled from the White House may mean going to court – or to prison.
