MSNBC producer for Rachel Maddow, Steve Benen, couldn't help but take the next step after former President Donald Trump announced that he wants a 2020 "new election immediately." Given the support Trump has in the Republican Party, Benen asked whether other GOP officials are ready to support this plan.
It has been 22 months since Trump lost the election, Benen wrote. Up until this point, Trump has maintained that he won the 2020 election. He even tried to change the results in several states and his campaign falsified documents attempting to swap out the electors. But in his latest rant, Trump admits he lost by demanding the 2020 election be redone.
"Part of what makes this so extraordinary is the frequency with which Trump re-embraces this obvious lunacy," he explained "As regular readers may recall, it was in April 2021 when the Republican sounded very much like a politician who believed it was still possible his defeat could and would be reversed. Soon after, the former president reportedly told associates he believed Arizona’s ridiculous Cyber Ninja audit 'could undo' the 2020 presidential election."
Trump's blog, which is now defunct after considerable mockery, bragged that Republican voters think of him as the "true president." Benen recalled reporter Maggie Haberman reporting at the time that Trump “has been telling a number of people he’s in contact with that he expects he will get reinstated” to the presidency by August 2021.
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In May 2021, by way of his now-defunct blog, he celebrated a poll showing most Republican voters “believe Donald Trump is the true president.” In June 2021, The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman reported that Trump “has been telling a number of people he’s in contact with that he expects he will get reinstated” to the White House by Aug 2021. That obviously never happened.
By Oct. 2021 he was back to spouting conspiracy theories and demanding a "new Election (sic) should immediately take place." Nearly a year later, this idea has returned.
As Republicans are desperately trying not to screw up the 2022 midterm election, Trump continues to demand unfaltering loyalty from them. Congress is out on their August Recess until next week when they return to do the people's business after Labor Day. At that point, reporters will have the opportunity to ask GOP members how they feel about holding another election as Trump demands.
"Is House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on board with such an approach?" Benen asked. "How about Sens. Ron Johnson, Marco Rubio, and Lindsey Graham? Do Govs. Ron DeSantis and Brian Kemp endorse the former president’s demand? How about J.D. Vance, Blake Masters, Herschel Walker, and Mehmet Oz?"
None of these Republicans have been willing to say thus far.
