U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday January 6, told supporters that he would never concede the 2020 presidential election to President-elect Joe Biden as Congress convened to affirm the Democrat’s victory in the November election.
“The media is the biggest problem we have,” Trump said in the opening moments of his address to a crowd of tens of thousands in the National Mall at the “Save America” rally. He once again falsely accused “the media” of helping to “rig” the election results in favor of his Democratic challenger, President-elect Joe Biden.
“We will never give up. We will never concede,” Trump said. The rally crowd at times chanted “USA! USA! USA!” After Trump used the vulgarity, the chant shifted to “Bullshit! Bullshit! Bullshit!”
He urged Vice President Mike Pence to help overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the November election when Congress sits later to certify the Electoral College votes.
“If Mike Pence does the right thing we win the election,” Mr Trump said.
“All Vice President Pence has to do is send it back to the states to recertify and we become president and you are the happiest people,” Mr Trump said.
But Mr Pence later defied the president’s call, saying “he does not have the power to discard electoral votes”.
The vice-president issued a statement saying it was “my considered judgment that my oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not”.
Lou Murray, a life insurance salesman from Boston, said he and many others still hoped Congress and Vice President Mike Pence would not certify the vote.
“I hope Vice President Pence has courage today, and I hope any politician who thinks he has a future shows courage to stand up and do what’s right,” Mr Murray said.
