Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) is slamming her Republican colleagues for not publicly acknowledging Joe Biden as the president-elect.
Appearing on CNN with Anderson Cooper Tuesday evening, Demings was asked if her Republican colleagues say behind the scenes that Biden is the winner of the 2020 presidential election.
Demings took aim at President Donald Trump, “I think we all know that the current President of the United States will do and say anything and nothing that he does surprises me anymore.”
She added, “But certainly the behavior of my colleagues, who used to say that they didn’t really support a lot that the president was doing but they were afraid of political repercussions…their behavior in this election is really disgraceful.”
“All of them, I heard, have been asked who won the election — only 27 out of 249 acknowledged that Joe Biden will be the next President of the United States.”
Demings said that she does not “expect better” from Trump, but she does “expect better from the members of Congress,” adding, “I think it’s absolutely shameful what they’re doing. And we see the results of this totally out of touch with reality behavior.”
Watch Demmings’ interview below:
"Their behavior in this election is really disgraceful," Rep. Val Demings says about her GOP colleagues.
— CNN (@CNN) December 9, 2020
"All of them, I heard, have been asked who won the election – only 27 out of 249 acknowledged that Joe Biden will be the next President of the United States." pic.twitter.com/YmVGJmZBCF
Demings continued to blast her Republican colleagues:
“For the president to not say anything is bad enough, but for the members of Congress to participate in it is disgraceful.”
On Tuesday, Republicans on the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies blocked a resolution that would have acknowledged Biden as the president-elect, as IJR reported.
Trump’s push to overturn the election results has drawn criticism from many Democrats, including House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) who called it an “attempted coup,” as IJR previously reported.
“For my Republican colleagues not to speak up in defense of this democracy — the best thing going in the world today — to run the risk of losing this fragile democracy because of the idiosyncrasies of one person. That’s what I think is at stake here,” Clyburn also said during a CNN interview.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) was recently asked by CNN if Trump should concede the election next Monday, to which he responded, “No. No way, no way, no way.”
He added, “We should still try to figure out exactly what took place here. And as I said that includes, I think, debates on the House floor — potentially on January 6.”
The Washington Post recently reported that only 27 congressional Republicans have said that Biden is the president-elect. About 88% of Republicans serving in Congress have not weighed in on who they believe won the presidential election. Meanwhile, two Republican lawmakers have said that they think Trump is the winner.
Following the Post’s report, Trump tweeted, “I am surprised there are so many. We have just begun to fight. Please send me a list of the . . . RINOS.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was asked if he would be “willing to acknowledge that Joe Biden is the President-elect” during Tuesday’s press conference, to which he responded, “This has become a weekly ritual.”
“The Electoral College is going to meet on [Dec. 14] and cast a vote,” he added. “We’re going to have a swearing-in of the next president on [Jan. 20, 2021]. Why don’t we concentrate on what we have to do the next two weeks?”
Biden revealed, however, during a CNN interview on Dec. 4 that “more than several sitting Republican senators” have privately called and congratulated him. He also noted that he understands “the situation they find themselves in.”
