President Donald Trump and his allies in Congress may be reluctant to declare President-elect Joe Biden the winner of the election.
Former National Security Adviser John Bolton has criticized Trump for not conceding and is accusing Congressional Republicans of “coddling” the president.
NBC’s Chuck Todd argued that Republicans “fear” Trump more than Bolton does, to which he responded, “What’s the president going to do to me, sue me?”
“Come at me again. I’m ready,” he added.
Bolton continued to say Republicans are “fearful of his Twitter rants.”
Watch the video below:
WATCH: “What’s the president going to do to me, sue me?” says @AmbJohnBolton after criticizing President Trump for not conceding.
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) November 12, 2020
Bolton, who was already sued by Trump, says: “Come at me again. I’m ready.” pic.twitter.com/S8ZIFJmK2Z
So far, Republican Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Mitt Romney (Utah), and Ben Sasse (Neb.) have congratulated Biden. Still, most Republicans have been silent or said it is too early to declare a winner.
However, he noted that Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) have called for Biden to receive intelligence briefings.
“I think those steps that separate key party leaders and the party from Trump are valuable for the country and for the party. And they shouldn’t care what Trump thinks,” he added.
Bolton, who served in the Trump administration from 2018 to 2019, has not been afraid to criticize Trump.
Before the election, he suggested that Trump may try to stay in office if he lost, “He may attempt anything. Look, under Trump, there are no rules except what benefits Donald Trump. I think this is nonetheless not a moment to get apocalyptic before we have more evidence.”
“That’s why I was so disturbed by his comment yesterday as reported by the press because I think that to try to say in advance, ‘the only fair outcome is when I win’ is something that we should pause over. This is going to call for some leadership by Republicans,” he added.
