It has been almost five weeks since the presidential election. So far, only 27 Congressional Republicans have publicly recognized that President-elect Joe Biden is the victor.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) told the co-hosts of “The View” on Monday that it “should be concerning to anybody and everybody who loves democracy” that so few Republicans in Congress have been willing to publicly acknowledge the election results.
While Biden has won the required number of electoral votes to win the election, President Donald Trump has refused to concede the election.
Manchin went on to claim that even though states have certified their election results, Republicans have not been willing to admit the results because “they don’t know how to combat 70 million Twitter followers that [Trump] might have.”
He also argued that if the majority of Congressional Republicans were to acknowledge that Biden is the winner, Trump’s attacks would lose their potency, and they could “move forward.”
“I can assure you, if all 200 of these senators and Republican Congresspeople would just say, ‘Listen, enough’s enough, I believe in America, I’m supporting our Constitution, and I’m fighting to protect democracy,’ they can move forward. He can’t take on all 200.”
He noted that “a few” Republicans have admitted that Biden is the winner, but he added, “They all should be saying it now because the certifications are done.”
Watch the video below:
.@Sen_JoeManchin tells @TheView “it should be concerning to anybody and everybody who loves democracy” that only 27 congressional Republicans have acknowledged Joe Biden’s win: “They all should be saying it now because the certifications are done”. https://t.co/f8u2wbJuik pic.twitter.com/6CRlZUgbU6
— The View (@TheView) December 7, 2020
Trump has continued to allege that the election was “was a rigged election” that tilted the results in Biden’s favor.
A recent report by The Washington Post found that just 27 Congressional Republicans have acknowledged Biden as the winner. Two told the paper that Trump is the winner of the election.
As the Post notes, roughly 88% of Congressional Republicans have not said who they believe won the election.