USA TODAY International Edition
The president: ‘ There’s no way I lost Georgia’
Trump pressured Ga. official to ‘ find’ votes to reverse loss
President Donald Trump pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to reverse his loss to Joe Biden in Georgia, according to a recorded phone call obtained by The Washington Post.
Trump has publicly disparaged election officials in Georgia, blaming his loss in the state on widespread voter fraud, though the Justice Department found no such evidence of fraud that would change the outcome of November’s election.
“There’s no way I lost Georgia,” Trump insisted Saturday during the hourlong call, audio excerpts of which were published by the Post Sunday. “There’s no way. We won hundreds of thousands of votes.”
Trump and Raffensperger exchanged tweets about the conversation Sunday morning: Trump said Raffensperger was “unwilling, or unable” to answer questions about fraud. “He has no clue!” Trump wrote.
“Respectfully, President Trump: What you’re saying is not true. The truth will come out,” Raffensperger responded.
During the call, Trump insulted, complimented and pleaded with Raffensperger.
Trump called Raffensperger a “child,” a
“All I want to do is this: I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state.” President Donald Trump on a call with Georgia’s secretary of state
“schmuck” and “either dishonest or incompetent” for not supporting claims of fraud, the Post reported.
“The people of Georgia are angry, the people in the country are angry,” Trump said. “And there’s nothing wrong with saying, you know, um, that you’ve recalculated.”
“Well, Mr. President, the challenge that you have is, the data you have is wrong,” Raffensperger responded.
Trump asked for Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to alter the result of the election.
“So look. All I want to do is this: I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state,” the president said.
Georgia officials tallied votes for the election three times. Each count determined that Biden won the state, the first Democrat to do so since 1992.
The president’s unsubstantiated claims of a mass election conspiracy have been supported by large parts of the GOP base, as well as Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, who face Democrats in Georgia’s Senate runoff Tuesday.
Raffensperger, a Trump supporter, has repeatedly denounced claims of election fraud as unfounded.
Legal and election experts expressed concern about the president’s conduct, indicating his comments were improper and possibly illegal.
Barbara Perry, director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia Miller Center, said Trump’s call “strikes at the heart of American democracy” and amounts to constitutional violations.
“It is a violation of the oath of office, whereby this president is supposed to carry out the office of the presidency,” Perry said. “And then you look to Article II of the Constitution, which grants executive power to the president, but in no way, shape or form says that the president is supposed to tinker with the election returns.”