Has President Trump Done Fatal Damage to any Further Efforts to Win a Second Term by Recorded Call With Georgia Sec. of State?
By Shipwreckedcrew | Jan 03, 2021 5:30 PM ET
There is a breaking story today about a tape-recorded call which is said to have taken place yesterday between President Trump and the Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger.
This is an interesting story in light of the article I published earlier today about the valid election challenge that remains pending in Georgia, with signs that it is being purposely stalled until such time as the outcome of the case can have no impact on either the election or public perception of the events playing out right now.
The tape was obtained by the Washington Post, but several media outlets are reporting on the contents today.
But the context of the conversation, and Pres. Trump’s comments seem to be mischaracterized to some degree. Most of the “usual suspects†in the media are treating the President’s comments as if he were demanding that Raffensperger fabricate inaccurate election results, referencing Trump’s suggestion that Georgia simply “recalculate†the outcome such that the numbers come out in his favor. But, in the same comment, it is reported that Pres. Trump again claimed that there is no possible way he lost the vote in Georgia and his claim that he won the state by “hundreds of thousands†of votes.
It is also noted that the call involved other participants. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Cleta Mitchell, a Republican lawyer, were also on the call. I have not seen any clear statement yet that Pres. Trump participated during the entire length of the call, said to have been an hour. I have a suspicion that he did not.
I don’t have a subscription to WaPo as a matter of principle, so I can’t read exactly what they report. But here are some excerpts as reported by other media outlets:
“The people of Georgia are angry, the people in the country are angry,†Trump said. “And there’s nothing wrong with saying, you know, um, that you’ve recalculated.â€
Raffensperger, a Republican who has become a bête noire among Trump supporters for repeatedly saying Biden’s win in his state was fair, said: “Well, Mr President, the challenge that you have is, the data you have is wrong.â€
Trump said: “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.â€
He also insisted: “There’s no way I lost Georgia. There’s no way. We won by hundreds of thousands of votes.â€
Referring to Senate runoffs on Tuesday that will decide control of that chamber, Trump said Georgia had “a big election coming up and because of what you’ve done to the president – you know, the people of Georgia know that this was a scam.
“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 did to the president. OK? They hate it. And they’re going to vote. And you would be respected, really respected, if this can be straightened out before the election.â€
Trump told Raffensperger: “Stacey Abrams is laughing about you. She’s going around saying, ‘These guys are dumber than a rock.’ What she’s done to this party is unbelievable, I tell you.â€
Trump also said he knew the call wasn’t “going anywhereâ€. Raffensperger ended the conversation.
On Twitter on Sunday, Trump said Raffensperger “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!â€
Raffensperger also responded: “Respectfully, President Trump: What you’re saying is not true.â€
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https://redstate.com/shipwreckedcrew/2021/01/03/has-president-trump-done-fatal-damage-to-any-further-efforts-to-win-a-second-term-in-recorded-call-with-georgia-sec-of-state-n303670