Elections Aftermath 2020
Written by Gayatri Panda
Government Official’s Reactions to the Election Results (November 8th, 2020)
After an entire week of waiting after the voting process, President-elect Joe Biden delivered his victory speech in Delaware.
"I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide, but unify," he said. "We have to stop treating our opponents as our enemies. They are not our enemies. They're Americans. This is the time to heal in America” (CBS News).
Immediately after the election, only 4 Republican senators acknowledged Biden’s victory over Trump. President Donald Trump has not called Biden to congratulate him, and he has not publicly accepted defeat yet. He has continued to call foul play stating that “ultimately I have a feeling judges are going to have to rule," Mr. Trump said Thursday during the counting of ballots (CBS News).
Senator Susan Collins, the fourth Republican who acknowledged Biden’s victory, comments “I understand that the President and others have questions about the results in certain states,” she said. “There is a process in place to challenge those results and, consistent with that process, the President should be allowed to do so” (Bloomberg).
On Sunday, the Senator of Nebraska, Ben Sasse, offered a less equivocal statement, telling the Omaha World-Herald that he and his family “congratulate the next President, Joe Biden, and the next Vice President, Kamala Harris” (Bloomberg).
After an entire week of waiting after the voting process, President-elect Joe Biden delivered his victory speech in Delaware.
"I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide, but unify," he said. "We have to stop treating our opponents as our enemies. They are not our enemies. They're Americans. This is the time to heal in America” (CBS News).
Immediately after the election, only 4 Republican senators acknowledged Biden’s victory over Trump. President Donald Trump has not called Biden to congratulate him, and he has not publicly accepted defeat yet. He has continued to call foul play stating that “ultimately I have a feeling judges are going to have to rule," Mr. Trump said Thursday during the counting of ballots (CBS News).
Senator Susan Collins, the fourth Republican who acknowledged Biden’s victory, comments “I understand that the President and others have questions about the results in certain states,” she said. “There is a process in place to challenge those results and, consistent with that process, the President should be allowed to do so” (Bloomberg).
On Sunday, the Senator of Nebraska, Ben Sasse, offered a less equivocal statement, telling the Omaha World-Herald that he and his family “congratulate the next President, Joe Biden, and the next Vice President, Kamala Harris” (Bloomberg).
Georgia’s GOP Secretary of State’s Statements (November 9th, 2020)
In a statement, Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said the election administration was “a resounding success.” “Was there illegal voting? I am sure there was. And my office is investigating all of it,” he said. “Does it rise to the numbers or margin necessary to change the outcome to where President Trump is given Georgia’s electoral votes? That is unlikely.”
The statement came after Georgia’s two Republican senators, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, called on Raffensperger to resign from his position after attacking his running of the election, without providing any evidence or data to back up their statements.
“The Secretary of State has failed to deliver honest and transparent elections,” wrote the two senators, who face runoff races on Jan. 5, after failing to clear the threshold of more than 50% in the election. “He has failed the people of Georgia, and he should step down immediately” (Bloomberg).
The outcome of the runoffs will most likely determine which party will control the Senate majority next year. Trump also attacked the results in Georgia, stating without any evidence that he won the state.
In a statement, Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said the election administration was “a resounding success.” “Was there illegal voting? I am sure there was. And my office is investigating all of it,” he said. “Does it rise to the numbers or margin necessary to change the outcome to where President Trump is given Georgia’s electoral votes? That is unlikely.”
The statement came after Georgia’s two Republican senators, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, called on Raffensperger to resign from his position after attacking his running of the election, without providing any evidence or data to back up their statements.
“The Secretary of State has failed to deliver honest and transparent elections,” wrote the two senators, who face runoff races on Jan. 5, after failing to clear the threshold of more than 50% in the election. “He has failed the people of Georgia, and he should step down immediately” (Bloomberg).
The outcome of the runoffs will most likely determine which party will control the Senate majority next year. Trump also attacked the results in Georgia, stating without any evidence that he won the state.
The Flagging of Trump’s Tweets (November 10th, 2020)
Trump’s victory in 2016 was primarily due to his effective use of Twitter as a megaphone. Twitter has proven to be quite the opposite during this election. Under the new policy regarding tweets that are inaccurate about the elections, the social media giant flagged Trump on numerous occasions: when he stated that there was voting fraud taking place even though there was no evidence and when he said that he won the election even though Joe Biden did. Four tweets making specific and baseless claims about fraud in Pennsylvania were flagged as “disputed” and potentially “misleading,” which kept them hidden from most casual users. And three tweets received a softer “Learn how voting by mail is safe and secure” corrective.
Trump’s victory in 2016 was primarily due to his effective use of Twitter as a megaphone. Twitter has proven to be quite the opposite during this election. Under the new policy regarding tweets that are inaccurate about the elections, the social media giant flagged Trump on numerous occasions: when he stated that there was voting fraud taking place even though there was no evidence and when he said that he won the election even though Joe Biden did. Four tweets making specific and baseless claims about fraud in Pennsylvania were flagged as “disputed” and potentially “misleading,” which kept them hidden from most casual users. And three tweets received a softer “Learn how voting by mail is safe and secure” corrective.
Trump Giving Up Power (November 26th, 2020)
President Trump gave various remarks when interviewed by the press on Thanksgiving at the White House. President Donald Trump said he’d relinquish power if the Electoral College affirms Democrat Joe Biden’s win. Still, he signaled he may never officially concede defeat and may also skip the Democrat’s inauguration. He described for about 25 minutes a series of allegations his legal team has so far made but provided little or no evidence for––and thus hasn’t raised in court appearances––while saying flatly that Biden couldn’t have received 80 million votes from the American people (Bloomberg).
When Trump was asked if he’d physically leave the building if the Electoral College affirms Biden’s victory, he replied, “certainly I will, and you know that” (CBS News). After this statement, he went back to unloading a series of attacks and criticizing the election - including calling Georgia’s Republican secretary of state an “enemy of the people.” Trump said he’d soon stage a rally in Georgia, where voters return to the polls in early January for a pair of runoff Senate races that will determine control of the chamber (Bloomberg).
At the end of the interview, Trump was asked what his plans were for this last Thanksgiving in the White House. “Is this the last one, or is this the first one of a second term?” he replied. “We’ll see what happens” (CBS News).
President Trump gave various remarks when interviewed by the press on Thanksgiving at the White House. President Donald Trump said he’d relinquish power if the Electoral College affirms Democrat Joe Biden’s win. Still, he signaled he may never officially concede defeat and may also skip the Democrat’s inauguration. He described for about 25 minutes a series of allegations his legal team has so far made but provided little or no evidence for––and thus hasn’t raised in court appearances––while saying flatly that Biden couldn’t have received 80 million votes from the American people (Bloomberg).
When Trump was asked if he’d physically leave the building if the Electoral College affirms Biden’s victory, he replied, “certainly I will, and you know that” (CBS News). After this statement, he went back to unloading a series of attacks and criticizing the election - including calling Georgia’s Republican secretary of state an “enemy of the people.” Trump said he’d soon stage a rally in Georgia, where voters return to the polls in early January for a pair of runoff Senate races that will determine control of the chamber (Bloomberg).
At the end of the interview, Trump was asked what his plans were for this last Thanksgiving in the White House. “Is this the last one, or is this the first one of a second term?” he replied. “We’ll see what happens” (CBS News).