Biden and Trump face off ahead of crucial votes
ATLANTA: Donald Trump, still scheming to reverse his election defeat and lashing out at Republicans for not supporting his efforts, converged with president-elect Joe Biden in Georgia on Monday for duelling rallies on the eve of two run-off elections that will decide control of the US Senate.
A day after the release of a bombshell recording in which he pressured Georgia officials to overturn his election loss in the southern state, Mr Trump hosted a rally in the rural city of Dalton for Republican incumbent senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue.
The President’s presence was provocative because he has described Georgia’s election process as “illegal and invalid” – criticism that observers warn may have the unintended effect of suppressing Republican votes in the runoffs.
Mr Biden, who takes over the White House on January 20, flew to Georgia’s capital Atlanta to campaign for Democratic Senate challengers Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff.
“Folks, this is it!” the 78-year-old told cheering voters. “It’s a new year – and tomorrow can be a new day for Atlanta, for Georgia and for America.”
Mr Biden attacked Mr Trump for his relentless “whining and complaining” about unproven election fraud instead of focusing on improving the nation’s coronavirus pandemic response.
“I don’t know why he still wants the job – he doesn’t want to do the work,” Mr Biden said.
Early voting numbers have set records, and opinion polls say both contests are too close to predict.
Republicans hold 50 seats in the 100-seat Senate. A victory in just one of the runoffs would give them a majority.
A Democratic sweep of both runoffs would result in a 50-50 split, with incoming vice-president Kamala Harris having the deciding Senate vote in the event of a tie.