President Trump isn’t giving up on Georgia, telling Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find the votes needed to overturn the state in his favor.
Trump reiterated claims that election integrity was undermined in Georgia, prompting its 16 electoral votes to go to President-elect Joe Biden, according to audio released by the Washington Post. Trump accused Raffensperger, a fellow Republican, of knowing what was happening but not doing anything about it.
“You should want to have an accurate election. And you’re a Republican,” Trump allegedly said in a call to Raffensperger and Ryan Germany, a general counsel in the secretary of state’s office. “… You know what they did, and you’re not reporting it. That’s a criminal offense, and you can’t let that happen. That’s a big risk.”
The president also claimed that Georgia was off by hundreds of thousands of votes and said his goal was to find 11,780 votes he believes are owed to him for a victory in the state.
“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,” Trump later said.
Trump urged Raffensperger to reexamine the election with people who “want to find answers,” adding that Germany wasn’t acknowledging his claims that he believes voting equipment was compromised.
“We won the election, and it’s not fair to take it away from us like this,” Trump said, adding that Raffensperger should look into the results.
Trump said he believes voters will show their ire about Biden’s victory in the two Senate runoffs on Tuesday.
“You know the people of Georgia know that this was a scam,” Trump said. “And because of what you’ve done to the president, a lot of people aren’t going out to vote. And a lot of Republicans are going to vote negative because they hate what you’ve done to the president. OK? They hate it.”
Raffensperger pushed back on Trump’s claims, telling him he was citing incorrect data. Raffensperger and Germany said the election was carried out efficiently, and the results were accurate.
Biden narrowly won Georgia by almost 13,000 votes, flipping the state blue after years of GOP dominance.
Trump mentioned a phone call with Raffensperger on Sunday, during which time he discussed “voter fraud” with Raffensperger.
“I spoke to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger yesterday about Fulton County and voter fraud in Georgia. He was unwilling or unable to answer questions such as the “ballots under table” scam, ballot destruction, out-of-state “voters,” dead voters, and more. He has no clue!” Trump said.
I spoke to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger yesterday about Fulton County and voter fraud in Georgia. He was unwilling, or unable, to answer questions such as the “ballots under table” scam, ballot destruction, out of state “voters”, dead voters, and more. He has no clue!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2021
The runoff elections between Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler and their Democratic challengers Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock will determine which party controls the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans.
Trump will campaign in Georgia on Monday. The president has also promised a protest on Wednesday in response to Congress certifying Biden as the winner of the 2020 election.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the White House for comment.
