Trump on Election Battles: Legislators, Judges Need ‘Courage’ to Do What’s Right

Trump on Election Battles: Legislators, Judges Need ‘Courage’ to Do What’s Right
President Donald Trump speaks during the Operation Warp Speed Vaccine Summit in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House, in Washington on Dec. 8, 2020. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
Zachary Stieber
12/9/2020
Updated:
12/9/2020

President Donald Trump on Tuesday wondered if lawmakers or judges have the courage to help him challenge election results in key battleground states.

“Let’s see whether or not somebody has the courage—whether it’s a legislator or legislatures, or whether it’s a justice of the Supreme Court or a number of justices of the Supreme Court. Let’s see if they have the courage to do what everybody in this country knows is right,” Trump told a press conference in Washington during a summit on COVID-19 vaccines.

Trump and other Republicans have filed a flurry of legal challenges in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and other states where the margin between him and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden was close. None have so far prompted a change to the results.

Two other cases are pending in the Supreme Court: the state of Texas filed a major case on Tuesday, and a group of Pennsylvania Republicans are planning to file a writ of certiorari, their lawyer told The Epoch Times, after the court rejected a request to block the certification of election results in the state.

Trump noted that he received nearly 75 million votes in the Nov. 3 election, almost 12 million more than in 2016 when he won the election.

“President Obama received 3 million less in his second term, and he won easily. I received 12 million more, which, by the way, is a record. Twelve million more,” Trump said.

“And they say that when the numbers came out—and the numbers came through machines. And all of those ballots were taken away and added. All you have to do is turn on your local television set and you’ll see what happened with thousands of ballots coming out from under tables—with all of the terrible things you saw. All you have to do is take a look. And if somebody has the courage, I know who the next administration will be.”

Trump has asserted he won the 2020 election. Biden has declared victory, pointing to results that indicate he'll receive more than the 270 electoral votes required to win, by a narrow margin.

President Donald Trump (L) and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in file photographs. (Getty Images)
President Donald Trump (L) and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in file photographs. (Getty Images)

Biden’s team didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Trump’s campaign, in addition to filing lawsuits, has been working to convince state legislatures to take back the power to select electors.

Georgia lawmakers circulated a petition this week attempting to call a special session on the matter, but didn’t appear to gain enough signatures. Lawmakers in Pennsylvania and Arizona are also pushing to take similar actions.

Wisconsin lawmakers are holding a hearing on the election this week, but don’t see a path to taking control of the electors, state Assemblyman Ron Tusler told The Epoch Times on Tuesday.
Another path would see members of Congress challenge electoral votes when a joint session is held in January 2021 to count the votes. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) and Rep.-elects Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Barry Moore (R-Ala.) have pledged to file objections during the session.