Republicans are Finally Abandoning Trump

Al-Etihad, UAE, December 25

Finally, the important leaders of the Republican Party have begun to abandon Donald Trump, who is now trying to find ways to enable him to remain in power after January 20. During the few days and weeks following the November 3 election, when most experts asserted that Joe Biden would be the winner, only a few Republicans agreed to admit defeat. Notable exceptions were Sens. Mitt Romney and Ben Sasse, who congratulated the President-elect as soon as the major news networks called the race. The turning point was the Electoral College vote on December 7, when Biden was confirmed to have won the election after garnering 306 votes, compared to Trump, who won 232 votes. The next day, Sen. Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Republican majority in the Senate, acknowledged Biden’s victory, congratulated him, and told his colleagues that it was time to prepare for the Biden administration. Of course, that’s not what Trump wanted to hear. Instead of admitting his inevitable defeat, Trump decided to raise the stakes and continued posting strange tweets claiming that he was the winner. To add insult to injury, Trump surrounded himself in the White House with a group of people competing with each other over providing him with the most ludicrous ideas on how to retain power. These proposals included several conspiracy theories rejected by legal officials, including the US Supreme Court. According to reliable reports from the White House, even Trump’s most loyal employees were shocked by some of the proposals presented to him, including the implementation of emergency laws in four of the states that gave Biden the most votes and using the US military to seize voting machines and organize a second vote. At the same time that these strange ideas were being presented, Trump’s attorney general, William Barr, announced that the Justice Department would not investigate further allegations of election fraud, and that it had no intention of appointing a special adviser to investigate Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, about possible violations of US tax laws. Barr himself will leave the administration this week “to spend more time with his family.” Even Trump’s staunch ally, the Rev. Pat Robertson, urged Trump to retire. What observers fear most now is that the more isolated Trump becomes, the more dangerous his actions will be. For the next 30 days, Trump will remain the president of the United States with enormous powers. During this period, he will be able to issue many executive orders that will harm and upset the incoming Biden Administration. He could also work with his few remaining allies in Congress to cause turmoil on January 6, when Congress meets to formally recognize the outcome of the Electoral College vote. If enough House Republicans can persuade at least one of their colleagues in the Senate to participate, they can demand a debate in both houses of Congress about whether the elections were rigged. It is certain that they will not succeed in changing the election result, but they will succeed in spreading more feelings of anger among Trump supporters who already believe that Trump is the real winner. Trump is also able to make rash foreign policy decisions and issue dozens of pardons for the benefit of his close allies, including his children. There is no doubt that his behavior since the elections has secured him a place as one of the most remarkable American presidents since the beginning of the republic. Trump now has four weeks to finally acknowledge his opponent’s victory, but only a few observers believe he will actually do so. –Geoffrey Kemp (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)