Bolton says GOP ‘coddling’ Trump, doing harm to party

President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, said Republicans should urge him to concede and accused GOP lawmakers of “coddling” while Trump “trashes the U.S. electoral system.” Trump has falsely suggested widespread fraud and directed his campaign to challenge the results in court.

In a stinging Washington Post opinion piece, Bolton said Trump has not provided any evidence to support his claims and is causing “grievous harm” to Americans’ confidence in the country’s constitutional system.

Bolton said Republicans are kowtowing to Trump because they want to win the two Senate seats in Georgia. But, he argued, the GOP’s refusal to stand up to Trump will do short- and long-term damage to the party.

The president paid Veterans Day respects Wednesday with a wreathlaying at Arlington National Cemetery, his first public event in nearly a week. He did not make remarks.

Trump, Sullivan win Alaska

Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan has been reelected to his Alaska seat, holding off a challenge from Independent Al Gross.

The race was thought to be an uphill battle for Democrats, as Trump carried Alaska by nearly 15 points in 2016, but Trump’s handling of the pandemic and Sullivan’s narrow victory in 2014 put his seat on a list of potential pickups for liberals. Trump also was declared the winner of the state.

The race was one of the last chances for Democrats to take one of the two wins they need in order to take control of the Senate majority. The call in Alaska means the last remaining chances lie in Georgia, where two seats are up for grabs and will be decided in runoff elections in January.

Pa.: 10,000 ballots received after Election Day, but by Nov. 6

The news from the Pennsylvania secretary of state is significant as a lawsuit from the Trump campaign criticizes the three-day extension of the deadline for receiving absentee and mail votes, from Election Day until Nov. 6. That change, recommended by the secretary of state’s office and upheld by the state Supreme Court, is the subject of a state GOP request for an emergency injunction by the U.S. Supreme Court. Even if those 10,000 ballots were rejected, Biden would still win Pennsylvania; he is ahead by more than 47,000 votes.