Washington
US President Donald Trump repeated unfounded allegations of voter fraud on Saturday as he campaigned for two Republican senators, marking his first public rally after the US election loss to Joe Biden.
Trump reminded the chanting crowd that he came to southern Georgia to persuade them to vote Republican in runoffs on Jan 5.
But he quickly turned to his repeated claims, made without evidence, telling the crowd that he will “still win it”, referring to the US elections 2020. “They cheated and rigged our presidential election but we’ll still win it. And they are going to try to rig this election too,” Trump told the crowd, who chanted “We love you!” and “Four More Years!”
The outgoing president’s claims have been rejected by state and federal officials across the country, and his campaign’s numerous legal challenges have almost all failed.
Biden was the first Democratic presidential candidate to win in Georgia since 1992. Statewide recounts, including a painstaking review by hand of some 5 million ballots, turned up no significant irregularities.
Trump said on Saturday his challenge was headed to the US Supreme Court “very shortly,” without elaborating. Legal experts do not see a path to the nation’s highest court, however.
The January runoffs pit two Republican senators, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, against well-funded Democratic challengers Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, seeking to capture a state that has not elected a Democratic senator in 20 years.
The races will determine which party controls the US Senate. Democrats, who already have the majority in the House of Representatives, need to win both seats to control the Senate. If Republicans win one seat, they will retain their majority and be able to block much of Biden’s legislative agenda.
Biden said he would visit Georgia to campaign for the Democratic candidates but did not give a timetable for his trip.—Reuters
