The right time for Republicans to begin speaking up against Donald Trump passed four years ago, but better late than never. With the president running around the White House yelling into cameras about election fraud and deep state conspiracies, statements from Republican lawmakers were imminent, although it certainly took long enough.
Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey: "I saw the president's speech last night and it was very hard to watch. The president's allegations of large-scale fraud and theft of the election are just not substantiated." https://t.co/SOXaMn23Ps
— Axios (@axios) November 6, 2020
Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), whose state is poised to elect Biden after having chosen Trump in 2016, said that Trump simply has no evidence of the claims he’s making. Of course, he’s had trouble producing evidence of myriad conspiracy theories he’s spouted while in office, but a peaceful transition of power is an American tradition and it’s painful to see it torn apart.
Axios reports Toomey as saying that:
‘I saw the president’s speech last night and it was very hard to watch. The president’s allegations of large-scale fraud and theft of the election are just not substantiated. I’m not aware of any significant wrongdoing here.’
First prominent adviser to break with POTUS —> @GovChristie tells Trump to stop inflaming and show evidence of "stolen" election https://t.co/ifVRnJaqdm
— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) November 6, 2020
Toomey joins a host of other Republicans speaking out against Trump’s words. Former Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) called Trump’s action “unacceptable,” Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX) called Trump’s actions “dangerous & wrong,” as did Rep. Paul Mitchell (R-MI). Sen. Mitt Romney (R-AZ) said that:
‘Counting every vote is at the heart of Democracy. That process is often hard and, for those running, frustrating. The votes will be counted. If there are irregularities alleged, they will be investigated and ultimately resolved in the courts. Have faith in democracy, in our Constitution, and in the American people.’
Thank you @MittRomney. At the same time, that this banal, uncontroversial, obvious statement of facts is a viral tweet says everything you need to know about our precarious moment in American democracy right now. https://t.co/bk0qKiWTni
— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) November 6, 2020
Even Trump’s own people are turning against him. Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer, a former Trump administration officials, said that saying “voter fraud … You can’t just throw a term out that without being specific.” Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who has worked on the Trump reelection team, said that:
‘A sitting president undermining our political process & questioning the legality of the voices of countless Americans without evidence is not only dangerous & wrong, it undermines the very foundation this nation was built upon. Every American should have his or her vote counted.’
There is no defense for the President’s comments tonight undermining our Democratic process. America is counting the votes, and we must respect the results as we always have before. No election or person is more important than our Democracy. https://t.co/BOO2iaTsEf
— Larry Hogan (@LarryHogan) November 6, 2020
