Some Republicans are receiving strong criticism from The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board for going along with President Donald Trump’s efforts to challenge the Electoral College vote.
The editorial board predicted in an op-ed, “The Democratic House would use the opportunity to excoriate Mr. Trump a final time on his way out the door, and grown-ups in the Republican Senate are unlikely to play along.”
It added, “Republicans should be embarrassed by Mr. Trump’s Electoral College hustle.”
The op-ed accused Trump of putting Vice President Mike Pence in a “terrible spot.”
It suggested if President-elect Joe Biden were to be denied 270 electoral votes and the House chose Trump, “Riots in the streets would be the least of it.”
The editorial board argued Trump’s move to challenge the votes will affect his legacy in the long run.
“Mr. Pence is too much of a patriot to go along, but the scramble to overturn the will of the voters tarnishes Mr. Trump’s legacy and undermines any designs he has on running in 2024. Republicans who humor him will be giving Democrats license to do the same in the future, and then it might matter,” it concluded.
The op-ed came soon after Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) became the first senator to announce he would object to the Electoral College certification of Biden’s victory, as IJR previously reported.
“I cannot vote to certify the electoral college results on January 6 without raising the fact that some states, particularly Pennsylvania, failed to follow their own state election laws,” Hawley said in a statement.
He went on, “And I cannot vote to certify without pointing out the unprecedented effort of mega corporations, including Facebook and Twitter, to interfere in this election, in support of Joe Biden. At the very least, Congress should investigate allegations of voter fraud and adopt measures to secure the integrity of our elections. But Congress has so far failed to act.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) explained why she is not concerned by Hawley’s comments, as IJR previously reported.
“I have no doubt that on next Wednesday, a week from today, that Joe Biden will be confirmed by the acceptance of the vote of the Electoral College as the 46th president of the United States,” she said during her press conference on Wednesday.
