Trump says he’ll keep up his fight over election
Yet he refuses to give evidence to Fox host
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump continued to protest the election during a broadcast interview Sunday but again provided no proof – and would not say when he might drop election lawsuits and challenges that have met nothing but defeat.
Trump said his complaints might last past the Dec. 14 vote of the Electoral College and even the Jan. 20 inauguration of Presidentelect Joe Biden. “My mind will not change in six months,” Trump told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” in his first broadcast interview since Election Day.
A steady stream of judges and election officials across the country, including Republicans, have declared the elections fairly run and criticized Trump’s legal team for filing specious complaints.
In rejecting a lawsuit in Pennsylvania, a federal appeals court said Friday that “charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here.”
Lawsuits and challenges have met similar fates in Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, Nevada and Georgia.
In a phone conversation that lasted 46 minutes, Trump criticized Republicans who disputed his claims of fraud, including Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, site of two Senate runoffs that will determine control of the U.S. Senate.
Trump’s comments throughout the interview amounted to little more than complaints and evidence-free conspiracy theories, observers said.
“He’s all over the place,” said Bradley Moss, a national security attorney. “He’s got nothing, he knows it’s all ending and he’s ranting to anyone who will listen.”
Some analysts criticized the questioning by Fox host Maria Bartiromo. Joe Lockhart, press secretary for President Bill Clinton, noted that Trump reportedly is thinking of buying his own news network. He accused Bartiromo on Twitter of “auditioning for a job” on Newsmax, a conservative website.
Bartiromo asked Trump to “please go through the facts. Characterize what took place” in the election. Trump repeated unverified claims that the election was “rigged.” Though Bartiromo asked him to provide evidence “to enable you to prove this in court,” she didn’t call him on disputed claims.
USA TODAY could not reach Fox News for comment.