Related video: Georgia election official debunks one Trump conspiracy theory after another
President-elect Joe Biden was campaigning for Reverend Warnock and Mr Ossoff on Monday evening, promising voters that their victories would mean a blue takeover of the Senate and thus the chance to upgrade Covid relief cheques for American citizens from the current $600 a month to $2,000, a move staunchly opposed by current majority leader Mitch McConnell.
Donald Trump was also attempting to drum up support for Ms Loeffler and Mr Perdue last night but largely used the opportunity to protest his own defeat in November’s general election.
Trump rallies base and pressures Pence
The outgoing president was also attempting to drum up support for Loeffler and Perdue in the Peach State last night but largely used the opportunity to protest his own defeat in November’s general election.
“There’s no way we lost Georgia,” he huffed.
Trump continued to push his still entirely unproven election fraud narrative, claiming to have won by “a landslide” only to fall foul of “communist” Democrats “playing games”, and even pressured his own deputy, vice president Mike Pence, over his role in certifying the outcome before Congress on Wednesday.
“I hope Mike Pence comes through for us. I hope our great vice president comes through for us. He’s a great guy. Of course, if he doesn’t come through, I won’t like him very much,” the president told the crowd in Dalton, less than 48 hours before the House and Senate come together to count the electoral votes and hear challenges from GOP lawmakers.
In full campaign mode, Trump called Democratic Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock “radical,” saying the former is “not a senator” and opposes law enforcement. “That’s why you must vote, and get out tomorrow and vote for David Perdue,” he said.
Absurdly, the president called Warnock, a black Baptist pastor, “the most radical and dangerous left-wing candidate to ever seek this office,” telling the mostly white crowd “he does not support your values” – a dog whistle if ever there was one.
Joe Sommerlad5 January 2021 10:25
Biden says Trump spends most of his time ‘whining and complaining’ and asks why he even wants to be president
The president was as vitriolic about his bested election rival as he was about Loeffler and Perdue.
Here’s John T Bennett on his withering words for Trump.
Joe Sommerlad5 January 2021 10:05
Biden says blue wins would enable $2,000 bailout cheques
The southern state of Georgia goes to the polls on Tuesday to vote in two crucial runoff elections that could shift the balance of power in the US Senate from a Republican to a Democratic majority, as GOP incumbents Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue take on challengers Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff.
President-elect Joe Biden was campaigning for Reverend Warnock and Ossoff in Atlanta on Monday evening, promising voters that their victories would mean a blue takeover of the Senate and thus the chance to upgrade Covid relief cheques for American citizens from the current $600 a month to $2,000, a move staunchly opposed by current majority leader Mitch McConnell.
“If you send Jon and the reverend to Washington, those $2,000 cheques will go out the door, restoring hope and decency and honour for so many people who are struggling right now,” Biden said.
“If you send Senators Perdue and Loeffler back to Washington, those cheques will never get there. It’s just that simple.”
The president-elect also said electing Ossoff and Warnock would mean an end to “the gridlock that has gripped Washington and this nation” under Grim Reaper McConnell’s sway.
“With their votes in the Senate, we’ll be able to make the progress we need to make on jobs, on health care, on justice on the environment, on so many important things,” he added.
The man due to become the 46th president of the United States on 20 January was at pains to underline the significance of the day, declaring: “Folks, this is it. This is it. It’s a new year, and tomorrow can be a new day for Atlanta, for Georgia and for America. Unlike any time in my career, one state – one state – can chart the course, not just for the four years but for the next generation”.
Of Warnock and Ossoff’s opposition, who have fought hard to smear the progressive values of their challengers, Biden was appropriately scathing: “You have two senators who think they’ve sworn an oath to Donald Trump, not the United States Constitution.”
Joe Sommerlad5 January 2021 09:45
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s rolling coverage of Tuesday’s crucial Georgia runoff elections, which could shift the balance of power in the US Senate from a Republican to a Democratic majority.
Joe Sommerlad5 January 2021 09:35