Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) dodged “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker’s question as she grilled him on Sunday over whether Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.
“I want to put this question to you, senator, just to put this to rest. Can you say definitively, here and now, that Donald Trump did lose the 2020 election?” Welker asked.
“Kristen, Joe Biden was elected president in 2020. It was an unfair election in many ways,” said Cotton of that year’s election, which the 2024 GOP nominee has recently admitted to losing following years of pushing otherwise.
Cotton’s comments arrive after the former president’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), refused to answer a similar questionfrom Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in what Welker described as a “big” moment from the vice presidential debate last week.
Vance, who has falsely claimed that Trump won that year’s election before, replied that he was “focused on the future,” which Walz called a “damning non-answer.” Vance later defended himself by claiming that the media was “obsessed with talking about” that year’s election.
On Sunday, House Speaker Mike Johnson(R-La.) also described the 2020 election question as part of a “gotcha game” during his appearance on ABC’s “This Week.”
Cotton, in his interview with Welker, claimed that the 2020 election was unfair “in many ways.”
“So obviously Joe Biden was elected president, we know that in part because —,” said the senator before Welker interjected.
“But did Trump lose? Just to the…” she asked.
“Joe Biden was elected, Kristen,” Cotton said.
He continued, “There’s a process by which we elect presidents. There’s votes in November. You have an Electoral College vote. You certify the election. And then you have the inauguration. Joe Biden was elected president. Everything has gone to hell in a handbasket as a result of it.”
Welker noted that the 2020 election was “one of the most secure” in U.S. history.
“But do you just not want to say that Trump lost? Why not just say the simple…” Welker said.
“Kristen…” Cotton said.
“If Biden is president, can you just simply say, ‘Trump lost?’” Welker asked.
“Joe Biden was elected president in 2020,” replied Cotton before claiming that year’s contest was “very irregular” and declaring that Trump, along with the Republican National Committee, is focused on “election integrity” in 2024.
