Who’s Going to Tell Him? Republicans Shy From Asking Trump to Concede (550 hits)

Who’s Going to Tell Him? Republicans Shy From Asking Trump to Concede
By Catie Edmondson


WASHINGTON — Since he was elected, President Trump’s relationships with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill have mostly fallen into one of two categories: the unbreakable bond with his most ardent followers, who defend him at all costs, and the tenuous, strained alliance with the rest, who share his agenda but often cringe privately at his language and tactics.

Neither group is particularly well suited for the chore of trying to persuade Mr. Trump, who refuses to concede the election, that it is time to step aside — or at the very least, to stop spreading claims about the integrity of the nation’s elections that are contrary to considerable evidence. And there is little chance that Mr. Trump, who has been perplexed and sometimes enraged by the Republican institutionalists who might normally be expected to play such a role, would listen if they did.

The dynamic helps explain why, days after President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. was declared the winner of the election, even Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, was unwilling to recognize the result. Instead, senators have tiptoed around — or in some cases blindly run past — the reality of Mr. Trump’s loss, and the lack of evidence to suggest widespread election fraud or improprieties that could reverse that result.

“There is no bipartisanship to speak of, in terms of how many members are willing to speak up — and would it matter to him? Would he listen?” said William S. Cohen, a former senator and House member from Maine who was one of the first Republicans to break from his party and support the impeachment of President Richard M. Nixon. “Trump doesn’t care a whit about the House or Senate, and he rules by fear. He still can inflame his supporters — there are 70 million out there. He still carries that fear factor.”

READ MORE: Who’s Going to Tell Him? Republicans Shy From Asking Trump to Concede https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/wh... Posted By: Dea. Ron Gray Sr.
Tuesday, November 10th 2020 at 12:26PM
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