Washington: Demos to confirm election results

Day of confirmation of the election result
Trump supporters demo and President’s speech: Washington fears “wild day”

The elected US President Donald Trump wants to appear at a demonstration of his supporters in Washington on Wednesday. He would give a speech at the rally, Trump announced on Tuesday in the short message service Twitter. He expressed the expectation that “large crowds” would gather for the rally.

Hundreds of Trump supporters already flocked in the US capital on Tuesday to protest against the formal confirmation of his election defeat against future President Joe Biden. On Wednesday the House of Representatives and Senate are due to certify the result of the November 3rd election. Trump, however, tirelessly claims, without presenting any evidence, that there was massive fraud in the election. Dozens of challenges to the Biden victory by his camp have been dismissed by the courts in recent weeks.

Donald Trump had called for protests

Trump urged his supporters to protest against the certification of Biden’s election victory by Congress in December and predicted a “wild” day in Washington. The police fear that the protests could lead to outbreaks of violence. In downtown Washington, many business owners boarded up their shop windows.

Right-wing groups such as the Proud Boys, who are considered to be ready to use violence, have also announced their participation in the demonstrations in Washington. On Monday, the police in the US capital arrested the head of the group, Enrique Tarrio, who had traveled from the state of Florida. The 36-year-old is said to have stolen and burned a political poster from an Afro-American church. He is also charged with having two automatic gun magazines with him when he was arrested.

Majority of Trump supporters without a mask

“My Commander-in-Chief has called me, and my God and Savior has instructed me,” said Trump supporter Debbie Lusk, who traveled from the west coast city of Seattle, to the AFP. “We’re either bringing our land back or it won’t be,” added the 66-year-old retired accountant. 69-year-old Chris Thomas, from the west coast state of Oregon, said she and her husband did not believe the presidential election result. They traveled to the other side of the country because they believed “in America’s freedom” and wanted to show their support for Trump’s economic policy.

Most of the around 300 demonstrators who gathered in a square near the White House by Tuesday noon (local time) did not wear masks despite the high number of corona infections. Many questioned the science behind the pandemic, which has killed more than 355,000 people in the United States.

The confirmation of the election result by Congress is usually a matter of form. This time, however, a section of the parliamentarians of Trump’s Republican Party announced attempts to block the certification. However, these initiatives are considered hopeless. According to a December poll, more than half of Republican voters believe Trump’s claims, or at least think the election results are unclear.

US media reports Democratic victory in Georgia

In Georgia, the Democrats of the elected US President Joe Biden achieved a stage victory in decisive runoff elections for two seats in the US Senate, according to forecasts by US media. The candidate Raphael Warnock prevailed against the Republican Kelly Loeffler, as emerged on Wednesday morning (local time) from consistent predictions by the broadcasters NBC, CBS, ABC and CNN and the news agency AP.

The race between the Democrat Jon Ossoff and the Republican David Perdue was not initially considered to be decided. It depends on whether the Democrats get control of the powerful Congress Chamber or the Republicans can defend their narrow majority.

The runoff elections in the southern state will determine the future majority in the US Senate – and how much leeway the future US President Biden can hope for in the first two years of his term in office.

jk
DPA
AFP