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Trump Urges Georgia Election Officials To Recalculate Votes and Flip the State to Him
Posted
January 3, 2021
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2:05Now PlayingPresident Donald Trump urged Georgia election officials to “find” thousands of votes and recalculate the election result to flip the state to him -- an extraordinary effort to strong-arm fellow Republicans as he tries to dispute Joe Biden’s election win.
In a 62-minute call on Saturday, Trump oscillated from flattering to threatening as he pressed officials, including Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, to take action in his favor just days before Congress is scheduled to certify Biden’s victory.
The president’s voice -- and that of his chief of staff, Mark Meadows -- was heard in an audio recording of the call that was obtained by Bloomberg News. Excerpts of the call were published earlier Sunday by the Washington Post.
“Look, all I want to do is this: I just want to find 11,780 votes,” Trump told Raffensperger. An official recount has affirmed that Biden beat Trump by 11,779 votes in the traditionally Republican state.
Raffensperger responded: “The challenge that you have is that the data you have is wrong.”
The White House and the Trump campaign didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. The office of Georgia’s secretary of state declined to comment.
Trump’s call threatened to deepen growing resentment toward him within his own party, as several Republicans believe he’s undermining confidence in Georgia’s election process days ahead of a critical runoff election on Tuesday that will determine control of the U.S. Senate.
Trump told Raffensperger, a Republican whom he once endorsed, that it was a “big risk” for him and his lawyer to not intervene.
“You know what they did and you’re not reporting it. That’s a criminal offense, and you can’t let that happen. that’s a big risk to you and to Ryan, your lawyer. That’s a big risk,” Trump said, referring the Ryan Germany, Raffensperger’s general counsel.
Trump’s tone shifted throughout the conversation. At one point he told Raffensperger: “You would be respected, really respected if this thing could be straightened out before the election.”
Earlier, Trump said: “The people of Georgia are angry, the people of the country are angry and there’s nothing wrong with saying that, you know, that you’ve recalculated.”
Trump cited attendance at his Georgia rallies as evidence that he won the state, saying the size of his crowds showed “it’s not possible to have lost Georgia.”
Trump also recited a series of conspiracy theories -- the secret replacement of “inner parts” of voting machines and the shredding of ballots -- as he urged the officials to overturn the vote.
At one point, Meadows asked Raffensperger whether “in a spirit of cooperation and compromise” they could discuss “a path forward that’s less litigious” then the many failed challenges the Trump campaign has made in courts.
Since the November election, Trump has largely eschewed public appearances, instead directing most of his open comments toward undermining the legitimacy of his defeat. He’s regularly encouraged his supporters to listen to far-right media outlets who dispute Biden’s win, while stirring outrage and fundraising off of it.
Some Republican lawmakers are now preparing to object to certification of the results on Wednesday, saying they must respond to widely unfounded concerns about election integrity that have been stoked almost singlehandedly by Trump.
Trump warned Raffensperger that Republican voters could punish the party if he didn’t overturn the result
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