The Washington Post on Sunday released a recording of an hour long call between outgoing President Donald Trump and Georgia's Republican Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger.
The state of Georgia—which went blue this year for the first time since 1992—has been a frequent target of Trump's and his allies' attempts to subvert the results of the 2020 election, which they falsely claim was awarded to President-elect Joe Biden due to widespread election fraud coordinated by Democrats.
Throughout the call, Trump urged Raffensperger to "find" the 11,000+ votes Trump needs to overturn results in the state, though these results have been certified, their electoral votes cast, the ballots counted three times, and signature verifications cleared of voter fraud evidence.
Trump's own Justice Department assured that it found no evidence of voter fraud that would've changed the election outcome. His election security officials hailed the 2020 election as "the most secure in American history."
Nevertheless, Trump said during the call that he expects swing states other than Georgia to flip their results in his favor.
Listen below:
“We have other states that I believe will be flipping to us very shortly." - Trump to Raffensperger on Jan 2#trumptapes #TrumpTreason pic.twitter.com/8vj1A74jSe
— ✨TheStarsAtNight ✨ (@Star5AtNight) January 3, 2021
Trump said:
"You're not the only one. I mean, we have other states that I believe will be flipping to us very shortly."
Another state whose results Trump absurdly claims are false is that of Michigan, where Trump's lawyers held multiple hearings and where Trump himself pressured local officials to block certification.
Upon hearing that Trump expects other states to flip for him, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson made it clear that Michigan wouldn't be one of them.
🙋🏼♀️Um. Not Michigan. Can confirm. https://t.co/xFIk8ZGo7g
— Jocelyn Benson (@JocelynBenson) January 3, 2021
People commended Benson not just for her response, but for her efforts throughout Trump's attempts to subvert her state's results.
Grateful to @JocelynBenson for her strength and courage.
Another public official who stood up, stood tall and performed her job at the highest level during some of the toughest times in recent history. https://t.co/GbEmyUL8jJ
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) January 4, 2021
Love my Secretary of State's response to this. https://t.co/tJkVyNQnIV
— Mark (@MAGMAUS) January 4, 2021
I love my SoS. https://t.co/iXtSVcvIvT
— Festive Anxietitties (@claire2themax) January 3, 2021
Proud of the woman running our state!!!!! https://t.co/86noyBE3FC
— MP (@micval67) January 3, 2021
So grateful to know that SoS Benson will do everything in her power to make sure Michigan has free and fair elections and our results from November are upheld. https://t.co/dLyWpvOXj1
— Shannon (@ShanMR42) January 3, 2021
Many think Trump applied similar pressure to Republican officials in other states as he did to Raffensperger.
I'm gonna make a bold but quite obvious prediction:
There are more tapes.
— Elizabeth C. McLaughlin, Esq. (@ECMcLaughlin) January 3, 2021
Georgia alone would not give Trump the EC victory, so similar conversations with the other key swing states must have taken place. Probably Arizona with its @gop Governor
— Elite Philadelphia Advance Team (@rhallnj) January 3, 2021
Flipping just GA doesn't get him anywhere. There has to be a whole bunch of very recent calls to swing state leaders.
— Maha (@MahaSoxFan) January 3, 2021
To officials in Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin & other battleground states
If you received a phone call from Donald Trump that was similar to the call @GaSecofState documented and released to the public Sunday, I hope you will find the courage to step forward and tell your story.
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) January 4, 2021
Trump's efforts have brought him no closer to the White House, but they have succeeded in eroding faith in the American democratic process among his supporters.
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