BREAKING: McConnell acknowledges Biden as President “Electoral College has spoken”
Pollemix News – December 15, 2020
Breaking with Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell took to the floor of the Senate this morning to congratulate Joe Biden on becoming President after nearly six weeks of stonewalling on acknowledging Biden’s victory. McConnell’s speech is a dramatic turn for GOP leaders who have either remained silent or backed up President Trump’s claim that the election was “stolen” through widespread voter fraud in key battleground states.
For the most part, McConnell has stayed above the fray, both refusing to affirm Biden’s win or weighing in on allegations of a rigged election. His speech today, however, seems to signal that senior Republicans no longer see a conceivable path to overturning the election results. The retreat from Trump by the most powerful Republican in congress is likely to trigger an exodus of support for the President by GOP members who have consistently taken their marching orders from Senate Majority Leader McConnell in the past.
McConnell’s departure from the President was conceivably prompted by yesterday’s official confirmation of Biden’s 302 – 232 victory in the Electoral College, which came in the wake of the Supreme Court dismissing a Texas-led lawsuit that many perceived as President Trump’s last realistic hope of overturning the election. McConnell opened by spending several minutes lavishing praise on the outgoing President for his policy achievements but finished his speech by dropping the hammer on Trump’s Presidency by unequivocally acknowledging Biden’s victory:
“Many of us hoped that the presidential election would yield a different result, but our system of government has processes to determine who will be sworn in on Jan. 20,” McConnell said. Adding, “The Electoral College has spoken. So today, I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden.”
The Kentucky Senator also reserved some praise for Vice President Kamala Harris saying, “all Americans can take pride that our nation has a female vice president-elect for the very first time.” Immediately after the speech Senator John Thune of South Dakota and Roy Blunt of Missouri followed McConnell’s lead with both conceding that Biden should be recognized as President-elect, signaling that the GOP is about ready to jump ship on the President.
POLL: Will the GOP continue to support Trump or will they force him to concede?
