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SOME REPUBLICANS ARE breaking with President Donald Trump’s attempts to falsely declare victory in the election and claim without evidence that Democrats are trying to “steal” it from him.
Trump escalated those allegations last night, telling reporters at the White House that the ballot-counting process was unfair and corrupt, having uttered similar allegations late on election night.
The president did not back up his claims with any details or evidence, and state and federal officials have not reported any instances of widespread voter fraud.
Representative Adam Kinzinger, a Republican from Illinois, tweeted that the president’s claims of fraud were “getting insane”. If Trump had “legit” concerns about fraud they needed to be based on evidence and taken to court, Kinzinger said, adding: “STOP Spreading debunked misinformation”.
We want every vote counted, yes every legal vote (of course). But, if you have legit concerns about fraud present EVIDENCE and take it to court. STOP Spreading debunked misinformation... This is getting insane.
— Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) November 6, 2020
On Wednesday he had commented more forcefully on Trump’s claim Democrats were trying to “steal” the election, tweeting: “Stop. Full stop.”
“The votes will be counted and you will either win or lose,” Kinzinger told Trump. “And America will accept that. Patience is a virtue.”
Maryland’s Republican governor Larry Hogan, a potential 2024 presidential hopeful who has often criticised Trump, said unequivocally: “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,” Hogan said on Twitter.
However, two of Trump’s senate allies warned that Republicans may reject the legitimacy of vote results if they turn against the embattled president.
As a few Republicans distanced themselves from Trump’s unsubstantiated allegations of fraud in Tuesday’s election, Senators Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz enthusiastically backed him in back-to-back appearances on Fox News.
“I’ll tell you the president is angry and I’m angry and the voters ought to be angry,” Cruz told the network’s host Sean Hannity, whose evening show is a favorite of Trump.
Cruz alleged falsely that Pennsylvania’s Democratic attorney general had ordered vote-counting in the state’s largest city of Philadelphia “until Joe Biden wins.”
“We need to get in there now,” Cruz said of voting centers.
Asked by Hannity if the Pennsylvania legislature could refuse to recognize the results and instead give the state’s electoral votes to Trump, Graham replied, “I think everything should be on the table.”
“Philadelphia elections are crooked as a snake. Why are they shutting people out? Because they don’t want people to see what they’re doing,” said Graham, who easily won reelection Tuesday in South Carolina despite a major push by Democrats.
Taking days to count legally cast votes is NOT fraud
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 4, 2020
And court challenges to votes cast after the legal voting deadline is NOT suppression
Meanwhile, other criticism of Trump, though less direct, came from members of Congress. Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican who spoke at a recent Trump campaign rally, said in a tweet that if any candidate believes “a state is violating election laws they have a right to challenge it in court & produce evidence in support of their claims”.
Rubio said earlier: “Taking days to count legally cast votes is NOT fraud. And court challenges to votes cast after the legal voting deadline is NOT suppression.”
Retired Republican senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, was more direct: “No Republican should be okay with the President’s statements just now. Unacceptable. Period.”
He added: “Fellow Republicans, don’t wait until the election is called to defend our elections and our democratic institutions. The time is now.”
Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, a Trump ally who is an analyst for ABC News, said there was no basis for Trump’s argument. Christie called Trump’s attack on the integrity of the election “a bad strategic decision” and “a bad political decision, and it’s not the kind of decision you would expect someone to make … who holds the position he holds”.
The comments by the Republican politicians and other GOP leaders were rare, public rebukes of Trump, who has demanded — and generally received — loyalty from fellow Republicans throughout his four-year term. Most in the GOP take pains to avoid directly criticising the president, even when they find his conduct unhelpful or offensive to their values and goals.
Trump’s tweets yesterday declaring victory and calling for officials to “STOP THE COUNT” were seen by some as a test of how firmly he can keep Republicans in line as he tries to challenge the voting process in court.
Before Trump’s speech in the White House briefing room, several Republicans challenged his attempts to halt vote-counting in Pennsylvania and other battleground states.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Trump ally who won re-election Tuesday in Kentucky, told reporters that “claiming you’ve won the election is different from finishing the counting”. His office declined to comment after Trump’s address on Thursday.
Representative Will Hurd, a Texas Republican who did not seek re-election, called Trump’s comments about corruption “dangerous” and “wrong”. He said Trump’s remarks undermined the US political process and “the very foundation this nation was built upon”, adding: “Every American should have his or her vote counted.”
While Biden is close to the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House, it was unclear when a national winner would be determined after a long, bitter campaign dominated by the coronavirus pandemic and its effects on Americans and the national economy.
GOP Senator Mitt Romney did not address Trump’s remarks directly, but sought to provide a reassuring note. Counting votes was often “long” and “frustrating”, Romney said.
If any irregularities are alleged, “they will be investigated and ultimately resolved in the courts”, Romney tweeted. “Have faith in democracy, our Constitution and the American people.”
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) November 6, 2020
Other GOP figures came out in support for Trump over his comments as did his family, who took to Twitter to question why GOP politicians were not rushing to the president’s defence.
Where are Republicans! Have some backbone. Fight against this fraud. Our voters will never forget you if your sheep! https://t.co/jLzOIJbrwV
— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) November 5, 2020
“Where are Republicans! Have some backbone. Fight against this fraud. Our voters will never forget you if your sheep!” Trump’s son Eric tweeted.
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Oh well that’s ok then. As long as their happy eh.
20% equity isn’t so terrible an idea.
Its been scuppered by the government anyway so is moot.
Charlie Weston wont like this.
Well it is good anyway as reform of the rental market is an absolute overdue necessity in this country. The increases in rent by some landlords are crazy. The more pressure the government come under to reform this area, the better.
“It also says that reform of the rental market, including mortgage to rent conversions for borrowers in arrears, focused building of rental homes and using ghost estates and vacant units.”
@business cat. I agree. 20% is a good idea. I’m not sure the CB will lie down on this. The consultation period is now over and an answer is imminent. If the CB falls to outside(banking, auctioneer, developer/legal sKumB) pressure on this, then as you say, not only is the point moot, the CB is and should be disbanded and re-elected by proxy of the people/business/non-politically affiliated professional bodies. NOT EU based ‘experts’, NOT present or ex-bankers, NOT ex-Goldman Sachs/Matheson/Cox/Goodbody stooges! Please. Please. Please. For our children..
20% For a bankrupt people?
And Randle what if the Central Bank sets 10% or 15% as the initial rate with the 20% rate being introduced in a few years?
Is that bowing to pressure from the government and international bankers or is it listening and reaching a compromise on proposed new rules which many citizens objected to?
20% is too high.. 10% is manageable.
@Ryan. Your point is valid. Of course it would make things easier for our children to have lower thresholds to the market. However, 20%, I believe, if actioned now, halts the next bubble, and hence, hopefully leaves property more ‘affordable’ for people in the mid to long-term imo.
20% is probably modest. It needs to be about 28%. Even then, it’s possible that upward pressure will drive it up to 30%, given the real estate bubble. Rent controls are needed to prevent a real estate bubble.
International mobsters fund would be a more appropriate title.
It’s just such a typically irish thing to do. Always going from one extreme to another. They used to hand mortgages out like hot cakes and now it’s essentially impossible for a lot of people to get one.
Yet them handing them out like hotcakes cost us €64bn. An expensive burn…
isn’t that because a real estate bubble is brewing once again?
IMF,,,, interfering manipulating f**kers,
It is a pity they didn’t interfere more. Despite the Troika constantly calling for reform in the legal services area, the Legal Services Reform Bill is still delayed and likely to be scrapped due to the lobbying efforts of the bar. This consequently drives up legal costs for every legal services customer in this country – including for the biggest customer of all, the Irish State. Not that the barristers and solicitors mind of course…
IMF – International Maggot Foundation. Thanks for yer opinion lads now jog on.
The article headline is as coherent as the comments that have been made so far.
IMF support idea to quell overheating property market…
Comments….
“IMF said something!
I’m angry & I don’t know why”
The same idiot commentators that complain about mistakes in the past shout down a commonsense idea to help stop a repeat.
There are loads of other ideas …
1. First time buyers could have been given property out of NAMA – no off limits !
2. Tax the living bejaysus out of those who buy a second or third property and thus give an advantage to first -time buyers !
Of course they are! A few nights in the Shelbourne, good food, good wine, good entertainment. If they had to try and rent never mind purchase a house in Dublin in this economic climate being taxed to death I dare say they would be no fans!
Cormac if a large percentage of people struggle to now get a mortgage then that should help slow or reverse the upwards spiral of prices. As we hopefully learned giving bigger mortgages is not the answer
Bring back
120%,
40 year,
Interest Only,
Low introductory Rate,
10xTimes Income,
Self Cert,
Mortgages
And Bring back
The First Time Buyers Grant,
Tax Relief on Mortgage Interest,
Section 23,50…. Tax Breaks,
Vat Rebates On Investment Properties,
Loose Planning,
Loose Home Improvement Loans
Credit Cards With 0% Introductory Rates and €50K Limits,
Incentivised Bonus Driven Loose Lending and Non Existant Underwriting,
And .5% over ECB Tracker Mortgages,
With Some 0% Interest Free Credit On Furniture and Appliances,
And Don’t Forget The Mortgage Brokers.
“Just a little something for this property hangover eh”???
Those are great ideas – no way anything could go wrong !
E:
Not gonna happen. Those that forget the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them.
Of course they are. They’re like the mean aunt in a family that’s happy with their nephew not getting the bike he wanted for Xmas.
Internal Manipulation Finger
Central Bank naive in “Loan To Value” recommendation. “Loan to Cost” should be the “Regulator” benchmark for lending for property.
——————————————————————————————————————-
Mortar invented in 1824 by Joseph Aspdin : Sand, Cement and Water …. no Platinum in it!
The IMF stepped in to tell Ireland what to do and then after a year or so found out that the cost of goods here were unbelievably high. Meaning in other words they did not do their homework first on Ireland before telling us what to do?
So who is to say that they didn’t do their homework again with that statement?
Why are they telling us what to do.. They are part of the swarm of leeches sucking the life blood of Ireland and they need to be burned off
Where are young married couples going to get €50,000 to buy a house for €200,000?
ECB is not living in the real world!
“Balance the books no matter who you hurt” !! That’s their policy.
Politicians are earning huge salaries and getting pensions funded by the taxpayers!
The electors will give their answer at the next election!
Fianna Fáil do not want to go into Government !! ,
Quite simple Dermot. The house price will drop to what they can afford. The cash buyers have finally died out and the market stalled last summer because FTB’s got locked out of the market. There’s another dip on the way. Smart sellers got out last year.
@ryan ash. How long will that take? 3-4 years to implement. Still won’t solve housing shortage in Dublin.
price controls will.
@ Tom Kenny. Tom nothing personal point of view understood. But when rent becomes more expensive than mortgage repayments and limits the borrower to save for a deposit in the first place with the rental market only spiralling upwards and new developments nearly non existent with workers on the dole. There’s a problem the IMF doesn’t care about or want to know about.
But the thing is Cormac that the IMF is actually calling for reform of the Irish rental market.
have your say