As legal blitz flounders, Trump protesters back false election claims

[rooster59]

As legal blitz flounders, Trump protesters back false election claims

By Jonathan Landay

 

Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump participate in a "Stop the Steal" protest after the 2020 U.S. presidential election was called for Democratic candidate Joe Biden, in Lansing, Michigan, U.S. November 14, 2020. REUTERS/Emily Elconin

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of President Donald Trump's supporters marched through downtown Washington on Saturday to back his unsubstantiated claims of election fraud as he pushes ahead with long-shot legal challenges to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's victory.

 

A week after his Democratic rival clinched the election, Trump's lawsuits have made little headway in the courts while Biden has received congratulatory calls from world leaders and forged ahead with work on forming his Cabinet.

 

For the first time on Friday, Trump began to sound doubtful about his prospects, telling reporters "time will tell" who occupies the White House from Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.

 

Flag-carrying Trump supporters, however, were out in force on Saturday to complain of alleged electoral fraud. Chanting "Stop the steal!" and "We are the champions!", they streamed from Freedom Plaza near the White House to the U.S. Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill.

 

Scores of members of the far-right Proud Boys group, clad in black with some wearing helmets and ballistic vests, were among the marchers. Some left-wing groups staged small counter-demonstrations but there were no reports of major incidents and Reuters witnessed only one scuffle.

 

Trump's motorcade briefly drove slowly through the crowds on the way to his golf course in Sterling, Virginia. Video on social media showed Trump, wearing a red baseball cap, waving to his supporters from inside the presidential limousine.

 

As the marches picked up steam, Biden told reporters in Delaware that he was getting closer to forming his Cabinet.

 

Biden further solidified his victory on Friday as results from Edison Research showed him winning Georgia, giving him a final tally of 306 Electoral College votes, far more than the 270 needed to be elected president and above Trump's 232.

 

The 306 votes was equal to Trump's tally in his 2016 victory over Hillary Clinton, which at the time he called a "landslide."

 

Trump briefly appeared close to acknowledging the likelihood he will be leaving the White House in January during remarks about the coronavirus response at a White House event on Friday.

 

"This administration will not be going to a lockdown. Hopefully the, uh, whatever happens in the future - who knows which administration it will be? I guess time will tell," Trump said.

 

With the election outcome becoming clearer, Trump has discussed with advisers possible media ventures and appearances that would keep him in the spotlight ahead of a possible 2024 White House bid, aides said.

 

His supporters were fired up on Saturday.

 

Mike Seneca stood near Freedom Plaza with his dog Zena, a King Corso who he clad in a red T-shirt emblazoned with "All American Dog", said he was backing the president.

 

"It's hard to believe he wouldn't have won," Seneca said, and he echoed Trump's unfounded allegations that mail-in ballots that favored Biden were fraudulent.

 

Donald Tarca Jr., who traveled to Washington from West Palm Beach, Florida, held a massive U.S. flag sporting a giant portrait of Trump.

 

"I think it was rigged on multiple fronts," he said of the election. "Also the media was so biased that they convinced millions of Americans to vote for Biden. They hate Trump."

 

Dozens of anti-Trump protesters briefly faced hundreds of supporters of the Republican president in a stand off near the Supreme Court, with the two groups separated by metal barricades and a line of shield-toting riot police.

 

"Hundreds of thousands of people showing their support in D.C. They will not stand for a Rigged and Corrupt Election!" Trump wrote on Twitter. Police gave no official crowd size but witnesses said the number of protesters was far short of Trump's estimate.

 

FAILING IN COURT

 

Trump has refused to concede to Biden and claims without evidence that he was cheated by widespread election fraud. State election officials report no serious irregularities, and several of his legal challenges have failed in court.

 

A Michigan state court on Friday rejected a request by Trump's supporters to block the certification of votes in Detroit, which went heavily in favor of Biden. And lawyers for Trump's campaign dropped a lawsuit in Arizona.

 

Federal election security officials have found no evidence that any voting system deleted, lost or changed votes, "or was in any way compromised," two security groups said in a statement released on Thursday by the lead U.S. cybersecurity agency.

 

To win a second term, Trump would need to overturn Biden's lead in at least three states, but he has so far failed to produce evidence that he could do so in any of them.

 

States face a Dec. 8 deadline to certify their elections and choose electors for the Electoral College, which will officially select the new president on Dec. 14.

 

Trump's refusal to accept defeat has stalled the official transition. The federal agency that releases funding to an incoming president-elect, the General Services Administration, has yet to recognize Biden's victory, denying him access to federal office space and resources.

 

Biden, who will meet with advisers about the transition on Saturday in his home state of Delaware, has pressed ahead with the process, identifying legislative priorities, reviewing federal agency policies and preparing to fill thousands of jobs in the new administration.

 

The Democrat took a bike ride on Saturday morning with his wife Jill and some secret service agents at Delaware's Cape Henlopen State Park. A reporter called out "Are you any closer to making a Cabinet decision?" Biden replied, "Yes" as he rode by.

 

(Reporting by Jonathan Landay; Additional reporting by David Morgan, Steve Holland, Ned Parker, Kristina Cooke, John Whitesides, Ted Hesson and Simon Lewis; Writing by Alistair Bell; Editing by William Mallard and Daniel Wallis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-11-15

 

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[placeholder]

Not only are they denying the reality of Trump's defeat. but also the reality of the pandemic. Very few of the Trump supporters wore masks. Why carry weapons when they themselves can be one?

"Video showed attendees waving American and Trump 2020 flags. Few could be seen wearing a mask, even as the U.S. on Friday announced a new daily record of 184,000 confirmed coronavirus cases."

https://www.npr.org/2020/11/14/934957728/trump-supporters-descend-on-d-c-for-events-contesting-election-results

[RJRS1301]

They do not appear to under even basic concepts of disease control or their own delusional cult follower behaviour. Risking their own and others lives does not appear to have crossed their minds.

[Salerno]

While this mob "protest" in DC with little to no regard for pandemic measures, in Texas (a staunch Republican State) ...

 

• The Texas county of El Paso recently doubled the number of mobile morgues it has on hand to process coronavirus deaths.
• The county – which has the second-highest number of active cases in Texas – now has 10 mobile morgues.
• Texas has recorded the most coronavirus cases in the US, recently becoming the first state to surpass 1 million.
• The local news station KFOX reported that coronavirus patients were dying at such a rate in El Paso that medical examiners hadn’t been able to keep up with the workload.

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/el-paso-doubles-mobile-morgue-capacity-new-coronavirus-surge-2020-11

 

[Laza 45]

– Now that Donald Trump’s “Million MAGA March” only has a few thousand people at it, he’ll probably demand a recount of that too.

[Chomper Higgot]

This news item confirming what we see here on TVF, a very much diminished number of Trump supporters clinging to unsubstantiated claims of ‘election fraud’ and clutching the straws of legal challenges that are failing due to a lack of evidence and/or the plaintiffs witnesses being caught outright lying.

 

[Chomper Higgot]

3 minutes ago, Laza 45 said:

– Now that Donald Trump’s “Million MAGA March” only has a few thousand people at it, he’ll probably demand a recount of that too.

Well he’s already referring to a few thousand marchers as ‘hundreds of thousands’.

 

Bare faced lies, lapped up by the ‘faithful’.

 

 

[Thailand]

Trump golfs and stirs up hatred whilst Americans die in their thousands.

Some weird sort of legacy!

[placeholder]

12 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

This news item confirming what we see here on TVF, a very much diminished number of Trump supporters clinging to unsubstantiated claims of ‘election fraud’ and clutching the straws of legal challenges that are failing due to a lack of evidence and/or the plaintiffs witnesses being caught outright lying.

 

But the good thing is they now realize that they've been lied to by their alternative sources and will soon be subscribing to the NY Times and the Washington Post. 

[ExpatOK]

Relax. On Jan 20th we will know who the president is. 

[ExpatOK]

24 minutes ago, Salerno said:

While this mob "protest" in DC with little to no regard for pandemic measures, in Texas (a staunch Republican State) ...

 

• The Texas county of El Paso recently doubled the number of mobile morgues it has on hand to process coronavirus deaths.
• The county – which has the second-highest number of active cases in Texas – now has 10 mobile morgues.
• Texas has recorded the most coronavirus cases in the US, recently becoming the first state to surpass 1 million.
• The local news station KFOX reported that coronavirus patients were dying at such a rate in El Paso that medical examiners hadn’t been able to keep up with the workload.

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/el-paso-doubles-mobile-morgue-capacity-new-coronavirus-surge-2020-11

 

You're right, the protest is in DC.  It has nothing to do with Texas.

[OneMoreFarang]

33 minutes ago, RJRS1301 said:

They do not appear to under even basic concepts of disease control or their own delusional cult follower behaviour. Risking their own and others lives does not appear to have crossed their minds.

That obviously brings up the question: Do you have minds?

[Salerno]

3 minutes ago, ExpatOK said:

You're right, the protest is in DC.  It has nothing to do with Texas.

 

Keep drinking the kool-aid.

[OneMoreFarang]

Lets not forget that over 70,000,000 Americans still voted for him - after experiencing him for 4 years. Almost unbelievable. 

[Tug]

They have the right to protest (I strongly disagree) personally what they are getting on about but what saddens me is the lack of ppe on the part of the protesters spreading covid they know so they can’t plead ignorance that’s really unpatriotic imo and straight up stupid + it was around 10,000 people

[Lacessit]

The virus has voted too:

Australia wins. But then, we regard all our politicians with deep suspicion.

[placeholder]

Just now, Lacessit said:

The virus has voted too:

Australia wins.

Actually from the virus' point of view, Australia loses. 

[soalbundy]

Nothing quite like the all American idiot.

[ExpatOK]

23 minutes ago, Salerno said:

 

Keep drinking the kool-aid.

That hurt my feelings, sniff ???? 

[Berkshire]

5 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

Nothing quite like the all American idiot.

It's becoming pretty clear what's going on.  The Trump campaign--and Trump himself--knows they've lost.  Trump lawyers are embarrassing themselves bringing up cases with zero evidence.  So the insiders are thinking "how best to keep making money."  Two choices.

 

1.  Tell MAGA world the truth:  "We've lost.  And we've spent a lot of money to lose and are in serious debt.  So how about you good folks send us your hard earned money so we don't have to spend our own money?"

or

2.  Tell MAGA world what they want to hear.  "We've won.  But the Dems have stolen this election.  Please send us money so we can fight this injustice and give the President what is rightfully his!"

 

I'm sure you'll agree that number 2 is a better money-making strategy.

 

[soalbundy]

1 minute ago, Berkshire said:

It's becoming pretty clear what's going on.  The Trump campaign--and Trump himself--knows they've lost.  Trump lawyers are embarrassing themselves bringing up cases with zero evidence.  So the insiders are thinking "how best to keep making money."  Two choices.

 

1.  Tell MAGA world the truth:  "We've lost.  And we've spent a lot of money to lose and are in serious debt.  So how about you good folks send us your hard earned money so we don't have to spend our own money?"

or

2.  Tell MAGA world what they want to hear.  "We've won.  But the Dems have stolen this election.  Please send us money so we can fight this injustice and give the President what is rightfully his!"

 

I'm sure you'll agree that number 2 is a better money-making strategy.

 

When I see these MEGA groups I think that the only thing missing is the sheep dog.

[CrunchWrapSupreme]

18 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Americans still voted for him - after experiencing him for 4 years. Almost unbelievable.

More unbelievable are the Trump supporter foreign teachers I know, none of whom are even American. They were posting all those "election fraud" videos of poll workers right after the initial count, shouting "STEAL!", none of which was ever substantiated.

 

Seeing why they support Trump, whom they can't even vote for, sheds light on why some Americans do. It's not about his actual policies or governance. It's about his ego, his swagger, his trash talk. They want to align themselves with it, be associated with it, be a "winner" like him.

 

To what end, I have no idea. Augment those fragile egos? Become that take charge kind guy who gets promoted? Gets the supermodel chicks? Well, hold on tight to those dreams.

[asiaexpat]

30 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Lets not forget that over 70,000,000 Americans still voted for him - after experiencing him for 4 years. Almost unbelievable. 

Largest cult in recent history, and just as dangerous as the Jones cult. America is in deep trouble with this disdain for democracy and love of a corrupt leader.

[spiekerjozef]

How can people be so dumb ? * brainwashed *.

[fangless]

16 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

When I see these MEGA groups I think that the only thing missing is the sheep dog.

I think the four legged sheep will take offence at that remark, don't worry about the two legged sheep they don't seem to have a working brain cell between them.

[soalbundy]

5 minutes ago, asiaexpat said:

Largest cult in recent history, and just as dangerous as the Jones cult. America is in deep trouble with this disdain for democracy and love of a corrupt leader.

Unfortunately even though the Democrats have one the popular vote and the presidency they have lost a lot of political power. The GOP have won seats in the house, will likely keep the senate and have stuffed the judiciary with their own people. I'm sure Biden has a lot of good policies but getting them to come to fruition will be either impossible or an uphill battle. Trump's supporters are like turkeys voting for thanksgiving but GOP leaders will be rubbing their hands with glee, there is money to be made with Trump. He needs to be exposed in court for the criminal that he is but I doubt that even this will convince his gun toting sheep.

[Lacessit]

13 minutes ago, spiekerjozef said:

How can people be so dumb ? * brainwashed *.

There are about 2.2 billion Christians in the world, and 1.6 billion Muslims. Does that answer your question?

[klauskunkel]

2 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Trump's motorcade briefly drove slowly through the crowds on the way to his golf course in Sterling, Virginia. Video on social media showed Trump, wearing a red baseball cap, waving to his supporters from inside the presidential limousine.

A true cult leader

[darksidedog]

After 4 years of calling Democrats bad losers, it seems the shoe is now on the other foot.

[RJRS1301]

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

That obviously brings up the question: Do you have minds?

Some people can be so unkind ????