President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally for Sen. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue at Dalton Regional Airport
Credit: AP
Donald Trump has called on his vice president Mike Pence to intervene to incorrectly hand him a second term in the White House as his baseless claims of mass voter fraud dominated a rally in Georgia meant to boost Senate candidates there.
The US president doubled down on his refusal to accept defeat to Joe Biden in his first sentences at the podium on the airport tarmac in Dalton on Tuesday, saying of his presidential record: “I had two elections. I won them both. It’s amazing.”
Mr Trump vowed he and his supporters were going to “fight like hell” to cling on to the White House just two weeks before he is due to hand over power to his successor at the inauguration, escalating fears of a turbulent fortnight ahead.
He also lashed out at those who have rejected his allegations of a stolen election including the Supreme Court, leading media outlets and two senior Georgia state officials, who he vowed to campaign against when they are next up for election.
“The fact is we won the presidential election, we won it big”, Mr Trump said falsely at the evening rally. At another point he said of the Democrats: “They’re not taking the White House. We’re going to fight like hell.”
The event had been billed as a chance for Mr Trump to drive out support for two Republican senators, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, who on Tuesday face run-off elections that will determine which party holds the US Senate.
If both lose, the Democrats draw even with the Republicans on 50 seats each in the Senate and therefore have control because the vice president — soon to be Kamala Harris — casts the deciding vote in ties.
But if either of the two Republican candidates win, their party will retain the Senate majority and with it the ability to block any legislation proposed by Mr Biden, who is due to be sworn in as the US president on January 20.
US President-elect Joe Biden appears during a campaign rally for Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock at the Georgia State University stadium parking lot in Atlanta
Credit: EPA
Yet for much of the rally Mr Trump, between praising the candidates and warning of the consequences of their losses, repeatedly pushed his false narrative that he won a “landslide” against Mr Biden and had it stolen from him.
Mr Trump especially focused on Wednesday, when in what is usually a procedural quirk of the US election system the US Congress gathers in Washington DC to formally confirm the election results.
Mr Pence, who as vice president is also the overseeing official in the US Senate, is the person who formally announces Mr Biden’s victory. His role in the process has reportedly become a point of intense interest to the president.
During the rally, in an unprecedented late grab to remain in power, Mr Trump urged Mr Pence to intervene on his behalf.
He said: “I hope Mike Pence comes through for us, I have to tell you. I hope that our great vice president comes through for us. He’s a great guy. Of course if he doesn’t come through I won’t like him quite as much.”
On Tuesday night Ms Loeffler became the 13th Republican senator or senator-elect to vow to vote against certifying the election results in Congress, a move that has been condemned by critics and moderate Republicans as deeply undemocratic.
The late move is all but certain to fail but will create moments of political tension and controversy on Wednesday. Meanwhile tens of thousands of Trump supporters are expected on the streets of Washington DC to vocally support his claims.
Large chunks of his rally speech in Georgia, which went on for more than an hour before a crowd in the low thousands, detailed claims of election fraud in the state which have been debunked by local Republican officials.
Mr Trump was preceded on stage by his son Donald Trump Jr, who toured the country campaigning before the 2020 election and is tipped for a political career ahead.
Donald Trump Jr. speaks before President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally
Credit: AP
Don Jr used his speech to warn Republicans disillusioned by claims of election fraud — ones his father has done more than anyone to heighten — from turning their back on the ballot box.
“Guys, when you’re at a disadvantage you don’t take your ball and go home. You get out there and you fight harder,” he said, calling people who suggested otherwise “morons”.
His girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News star, also gave her own stump speech which included suggesting it was not too late for Mr Trump to carry on in office. “I think we need to keep Trump in the White House and keep the Senate”, she said.
Among the crowds it was not hard to find those who were full square behind Mr Trump’s election claims as they bought popcorn and hovered near heaters before the rally kicked off.
US President Donald J. Trump gestures as he departs after participating in an election eve campaign rally
Credit: EPA
Two sisters-in-law from Vidor, Texas, had attended the event on their way to Washington DC where on Wednesday they will join the protest opposing Congress certifying the election results.
Dawn Durse, a 50-year-old nurse wearing a Trump 2020 hat and ‘Take America Back’ T-shirt, expressed unwavering confidence in Mr Trump’s false claims of victory.
“If they don’t flip this I’m afraid it could be really bad,” she said in a stark warning to Congress. “Because we the people are not going to shut up”.
Amadana Davis, 41, was less certain of the president’s victory as she drew on a cigarette in the cold but believed the US Constitution had been undermined by late voting rule changes before the November election.
Asked why she was joining the march in Washington she said: “Because I’m pissed off. Just angry. Not that they care about the Constitution but I do. I want a fair election.”
Some at the rally predicted a split if Republicans did not fall in behind Mr Trump’s insistence of victory. Others believed the president had higher powers on his side.
Miranda Beard, a 36-year-old who had driven more than two hours from Tennessee, said: “I’m a Christian and I support Trump. I believe that he has favour with God.”
“I believe that all this evil and wicked is going to come to light and I believe he will be president for another for years.”
There is a fortnight left before the inauguration to make that a reality. Ms Beard’s T-shirt read: “If you don’t like Trump you probably won’t like me and I’m okay with that."
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