The United States has reported more than 3,000 coronavirus deaths a day throughout this week and hospitals across the country are at a breaking point because of spiking infection rates — but President Donald Trump is focused on overturning the election he lost.
Trump, who rarely acknowledges the painful reality of the American coronavirus crisis, took renewed aim at Senate Republicans on Friday for rebuffing his last-ditch demand to invalidate Joe Biden’s election victory in a joint session of Congress next month.
“@Senatemajldr and Republican Senators have to get tougher, or you won’t have a Republican Party anymore. We won the Presidential Election, by a lot,” Trump tweeted falsely, tagging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. “FIGHT FOR IT. Don’t let them take it away!”
Trump’s desperate bid to subvert the election has failed at every turn, but that isn’t stopping him from putting pressure on Republicans to try one last time to flip the results when the House and the Senate convene Jan. 6 to count the Electoral College votes.
The Electoral College count, the final constitutional step before Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration, is mostly a formality, and there’s virtually no chance lawmakers will rescind the election results.
Still, some Trump-loyal House Republicans are vowing to challenge slates of electoral votes during the joint session.
If they get at least one GOP senator on board with such a challenge, both the House and the Senate will be mandated to debate the matter, creating an opportunity for Republicans to show just how loyal they are to the outgoing president.
Ultimately, any challenges are destined to fail, as at least some Democrats would need to offer support for electors to be thrown out.
In addition, McConnell, the top Republican in Congress, has already instructed his caucus to not entertain any challenges to Biden’s 306-232 Electoral College victory.
“The Electoral College has spoken. So, today, I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden,” McConnell said Tuesday, finally acknowledging the reality of the Nov. 3 election results.
A spokesman for McConnell did not return a request for comment after Trump’s Friday missive.
Moving on, Trump took heart in that newly elected Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville is telling news outlets that he may buck McConnell and join House Republicans in challenging the Electoral College count next month.
“That’s because he is a great champion and man of courage. More Republican Senators should follow his lead,” Trump tweeted. “We had a landslide victory, and then it was swindled away from the Republican Party — but we caught them. Do something!”
Lost in Trump’s flurry of false tweets about the election was any mention of the pandemic, which continues to inflict devastating damage on Americans.
Nearly 3,500 Americans died from COVID-19 on Thursday, just slightly lower than Tuesday’s all-time daily high of 3,611 deaths. In total, more than 311,000 Americans have died from the virus and millions remain unemployed because of its economic toll.
