President Trump’s escalating attacks on Republican elected officials he perceives as insufficiently supportive of his efforts to contest the election results in several closely contested battleground states are raising concerns he will divide the party on his way out of the White House.
Trump has refused to concede the presidential race, reiterating in a 46-minute videotaped speech Wednesday that when the courts review the evidence, it will prove voter fraud sufficient to overturn the results in enough states to hand him a potential Electoral College majority and another four years in office. And he is increasingly outspoken about his disappointment with Republican leaders who do not endorse this view.
Trump has expressed regret about endorsing Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and has lashed out at Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, both Republicans who have refused to sow doubts about election results showing Democratic President-elect Joe Biden won their states by small margins. Trump carried both states in 2016.
“Why is he rushing to put a Democrat in office?” Trump demanded as Ducey discussed the swearing-in of newly elected Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly. “Especially when so many horrible things concerning voter fraud are being revealed at the hearing going on right now.”
Trump was referring to a meeting between his campaign lawyers and some Arizona GOP lawmakers. “What is going on with @dougducey?” he continued on Twitter. “Republicans will long remember!” Trump retweeted users saying Ducey “betrayed the people of Arizona” and asking, “Who needs Democrats when you have Republicans like Brian Kemp and Doug Ducey?”
“I take the president’s displeasure with the governor for what it is — self-centered, egotistical behavior totally expected and unsurprising,” said Chuck Coughlin, a veteran Republican strategist in Arizona. “There are several questions Trump supporters should be asking themselves. If the president turned that quickly on the governor and Sen. McSally, how long before he treats me just the same? Given the president’s track record and his relationship to the truth, do I want to stake my entire political fortunes on this one guy who just lost Arizona?”
The president has also taken aim at Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who said Wednesday ahead of a second recount, “It looks like Vice President Biden will be carrying Georgia, and he is our president-elect.” Trump has called Raffensperger an “enemy of the people.” Earlier, Trump appeared to question the political future of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican leading a state he won easily, for urging the administration to begin the transition of power to Biden.
There are even rumors the president is displeased with Attorney General William Barr, who said Tuesday that the Justice Department has uncovered no evidence of voter fraud sufficient to alter the outcome of the election.
Of most immediate importance to national Republicans is a pair of Georgia runoff elections that will determine which party controls the Senate next year. There is widespread concern that Trump casting doubts on the state’s voting process will demoralize Republicans. Lin Wood, a conservative attorney who is not affiliated with Trump’s campaign but is contesting the election results, led a rally in “Lock him up!” chants against GOP elected officials and urged Georgians to boycott the runoffs rather than vote for Republican incumbent Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. “Do not be fooled twice,” Wood said. “This is Georgia. We ain’t dumb.”
Trump, who is appearing with the GOP senators in Georgia on Saturday, hasn’t gone that far. “A very important election that’s coming up will determine whether or not we hold the Senate,” he said Wednesday. “David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler are two tremendous people.” But he added that “in Georgia, they’re using the same horrible Dominion system” he blames for tipping key states against him.
“There’s unquestionably real risk that he’s going to depress turnout in Georgia,” said Brendan Buck, who served as a top adviser to House Speaker Paul Ryan. “The question is how much, but these races are going to be close enough that it could potentially cost us the majority. You can only tell people elections don’t work for so long until they stop participating. It’s too early to say whether this will have any long-term consequences on GOP voter turnout, but it’s only one party’s voters who are being told not to trust the system. It’s completely self-defeating.”
Early voting in Georgia begins on Dec. 14, the same day the Electoral College will vote for president. Yet Trump has given his party, elements of which he has had a contentious relationship with since announcing his candidacy in 2015, little indication he will go quietly.
“What a mess,” said a longtime Republican operative in Washington, D.C. “But so typical of Trump.”
