US President Donald Trump seems reluctant to leave the White house and has been calling his supporters to rally Washington on January 6 to force Congress to not certify Joe Biden’s election victory.
It is expected that his supporters from all across the country, from the Women for America First group, to StoptheSteal, to the violent Proud Boys, will descend on the US capital, pressing Trump’s false claim that he was defeated due to massive fraud in the November 3 election.
Trump invited his supporters via tweet twice this weekend, terming the election “the biggest SCAM in our nation’s history.”
“See you in Washington, DC, on January 6th. Don’t miss it,” he wrote on Sunday.
The rally raised fears of violence after the December 12 protest that included the Proud Boys, in which several people were stabbed and dozens arrested.
Trump seems hopeful that the move could pressure Congress to reject the final count of state-based electors and reverse the result.
“We the People must take to the US Capitol lawn and steps and tell Congress #DoNotCertify,” StopTheSteal wrote online. “Congress cannot certify this fraudulent Electoral College,” they said.
On January 6 Vice President Mike Pence will lead the joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate to declare the final results. He will open and read the certificates from each state, and then declare the victor. It is a mere formality.
Democrat Joe Biden captured 306 electors while Republican Trump only 232. Trump has also lost dozens of challenges in courts as “he failed to give evidence of any significant fraud.”
However, the session can be stalled if lawmakers from both houses submit formal objections to any state’s report. Meanwhile, Trump and supporters have urged Pence to unilaterally reject some pro-Biden states’ certificates, a power legal experts say Pence does not have.
Biden accusation
The transition of power in the US has become a controversial affair as President-elect Joe Biden accused defence department of irresponsible attitude for its failure to provide details his team needed for transition. His team has been facing “obstruction from the political leadership,” Biden claimed.
He also claimd that Donald Trump has damaged the agencies critical to U.S. security.
He is due to take office on 20 January but President Trump challenged the election results. Finally, he agreed to leave White House last month. Despite that, Biden was not given key intelligence briefings.
Biden tweeted his speech, claiming that his team was facing “roadblocks” in the defence department and the Office of Management and Budget.
“Right now, we just aren’t getting all the information that we need from the outgoing administration in key national security areas,” he continued. “It’s nothing short, in my view, of irresponsibility.”
The president-elect added that his team needed a “clear picture of our force posture around the world” and that US adversaries could exploit any confusion that resulted.
