Trump news - Republican senators begin to turn on president as Georgia confirms Biden win
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Donald Trump is facing an increasing revolt among Republican senators, with at least three having openly criticised the US president in the last 48 hours.
Mitt Romney, Lamar Alexander and Susan Collins have all called on the US president to give up his attempts to pressurise state election officials into supporting his baseless claims of mass voter fraud.
Several House Republicans, including Liz Cheney, have made similar calls, describing the legal efforts of the Trump campaign as “embarrassing”.
The criticism comes as Georgia’s secretary of state on Friday certified Joe Biden as the winner of the state’s recount. With the official results reported, Brad Raffensperger certified that Mr Biden won the recount by 12,670 votes.
State Department congratulates Palau candidate on presidential win
The State Department has congratulated the tiny archipelago nation of Palau on its presidential election, which was won by Surangel Whipps Jr.
It comes despite the secretary of state Mike Pompeo’s continued refusal to acknowledge Joe Biden won the US election. He even went so far last week as to say there would be “a second Trump administration”.
Republican lawmakers ‘stayed at Trump hotel’ after meeting with president
Two Republican lawmakers for Michigan, Mike Shirkey and Dan Lauwers, who held a meeting with Donald Trump in the White House on Friday, appear to have stayed the night at the Trump International Hotel in Washington DC.
They were spotted having drinks in the bar last night, and this morning were seen leaving the hotel by reporter Melissa Nann Burke.
Mr Shirkey and Mr Lauwers, following the meeting, released a statement saying they had been presented with no evidence suggesting there had been election fraud in Michigan, something the US president baselessly insists has occurred.
Needless to say, there are ethical issues with elected officials lining the pockets of the US president.
Trump campaign lying to supporters about election result in emails
This is the latest email from the Trump campaign to followers, in which they falsely assert that Donald Trump “won the election!”
Almost every line in the email is at a minimum misleading, at at most outright false. Claims like these appear to be having an effect on Republican voters, many of whom are convinced Mr Trump really did win, despite the wide margin of victory for Joe Biden.
Ronna McDaniel, the Republican Party chairwoman and the Michigan GOP chair Lara Cox have sent a letter to the Michigan board of state canvassers asking them to conduct a “full audit” of the vote in Wayne County before certifying the results.
Joe Biden beat Donald Trump in Michigan and Wayne County, which includes Detroit and has a majority black populace, voted heavily in favour of the Democratic candidate.
Jocelyn Benson, Michigan’s secretary of state, has already made clear that such a request is not in accordance with state law. Audits can only be conducted after state canvassers have certified the election.
Outrage in Black community over claims of voter fraud in US election
When Wisconsin Republicans opened an office earlier this year in the historical Bronzeville neighbourhood, it was meant to be a physical symbol of president Donald Trump's commitment to urban voters. Signs on the window declared “Black Voices Matter” and the address was on Dr Martin Luther King Jr Drive.
But on Friday, as state officials began recounting ballots in Milwaukee County at the request of Mr Trump's failed reelection campaign, the office had become, for many residents, a symbol of Republican hypocrisy.
“The president kept talking about Black voices mattering when he attempted to make inroads with the African American community,” said Cavalier Johnson, president of the Milwaukee Common Council. “Then he loses the election, and turns right around and targets the same communities that these Black folks came from.”
Read more:
Outrage in Black community over claims of voter fraud in US election
In Wisconsin, where Biden won by 20,500 votes, the Trump campaign is paying for a recount in diverse Milwaukee and Dane counties, but not in the rest of the state, which is largely White.
Trump plays golf at personal club following virtual G20 summit
Donald Trump has once again headed to one of his personal golf clubs, this time in Virginia, CNN correspondent Manu Raju reports.
It comes after the US president took part in a virtual G20 summit with other world leaders. During it, he reportedly said he would “look forward to working with you again for a long time”.
According to Mr Trump’s public schedule, he has nothing else on for today.
A small group of protesters and supporters greeted the president
‘A slaughtering’
Sometimes hyperbole can really come back to haunt you.
Meet Donald Trump’s worst nightmare
When Donald Trump set his sights on overturning the results of the election in Pennsylvania, there were a few things working against him. First, the margin of Joe Biden’s victory put it beyond the need for a recount. Second, Pennsylvania is the birthplace of American democracy, and they take this stuff very seriously. Third, John Fetterman.
Richard Hall reports.
Meet Pennsylvania’s anger translator, and Donald Trump’s worst nightmare
John Fetterman has become a symbol of Pennsylvania’s resistance to Trump’s anti-democratic moves, writes Richard Hall
The world moves on while the president golfs
CNN reports that while Trump golfs today he appears to be missing a side-event at the G20 virtual summit concerning the coronavirus pandemic.
Among the leaders that spoke were the heads of Germany, France, South Korea, Argentina, and host nation Saudi Arabia.
Figures collated by NBC News note that the total number of cases of Covid-19 in the US has now topped 12 million, just under a fifth of the approximately 58 million people infected globally.
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