Election 2020 live updates: GOP governor says Biden is the next president; Bolton says Trump has no character
USA TODAY’S coverage of the 2020 election continues this week after Joe Biden won a bitterly fought presidential election and states work to finish counting their remaining ballots.
Be sure to refresh this page often to get the latest information on how things are going.
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USA TODAY will have live election information from across the country.
Ex-national security adviser Bolton: Trump not conceding a ‘character test’ for GOP
Former White House national security adviser John Bolton excoriated Republican leaders Sunday on ABC News’ “This Week,” saying that it is “very important” the party acknowledge President Donald Trump lost his reelection bid.
Bolton said that “it’s clearer and clearer there isn’t any evidence” to substantiate Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud, but also noted that “if the Republican voters are only hearing Donald Trump’s misrepresentations, it’s not surprising that they believe it.”
When asked his opinion of Trump’s refusal to concede, Bolton said, “Well, if he had any character, I would say it’s perfectly in character.”
“It displeases him when reality doesn’t conform to the image that he has of it,” continued the adviser to several Republican administrations, who is known for his hawkish views. He added that while he doesn’t expect Trump “to go graciously” he does “expect him to go.”
Bolton said that he thought it was “critical” for Republican leaders to oppose the president’s unfounded claims and that the situation presented a “character test for the Republican Party.”
“I think pretty soon we’ll get the stab in the back theories,” Bolton predicted of Trump’s ultimate response to his loss. “We’ll get the dark conspiracy theories continued. And he will make life as difficult as he can for the incoming Biden administration.”
Bolton also called recent firings of senior officials in the departments of Defense, State and Homeland Security “decapitations” and predicted they would be “very damaging, not just for the current administration, but for the incoming administration as well.”
– Matthew Brown
Arkansas GOP Governor: Joe Biden will be the next president
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said that he expected Joe Biden to be the next president of the United States, becoming the latest on a small but growing list of elected Republicans who have acknowledged Biden’s victory.
“It was good actually to see President Trump tweet out that [Biden] won. I think that’s the start of an acknowledgment,” Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson also said that he thinks it is “very important” that Biden has access to intelligence briefings an incoming president is normally given during the transition process, citing the need to “make sure that he is prepared,” citing foreign adversaries and the coronavirus pandemic.
Hutchinson noted that the Department of Homeland Security “indicated this week that there’s not any evidence of rampant fraud in the election that would undermine the result,” a finding that President Donald Trump has directly contradicted.
Hutchinson, who hails from a state Trump won by 28 points, did not think that Trump’s influence in the party would wane anytime soon. “Clearly President Trump will have a voice for a long time in the party,” he said.
“Anybody that can generate those kinds of crowds … He will have an influence for some time to come.”
– Matthew Brown
Trump acknowledges Biden ‘won,’ repeats claims about ‘rigged’ election
President Donald Trump for the first time acknowledged his Democratic opponent Joe Biden won the presidential election, though he repeated his false claims that the race was “rigged” by Democrats.
“He won because the Election was Rigged,” Trump tweeted. He went on to repeat a claim about election observers not being allowed to watch the vote count, decry alleged media bias, and allude to a discredited claim that a company behind the vote tabulation in some states somehow contributed to his loss.
Trump has refused to concede since the vote count put the race out of reach for him and the election was called for President-elect Biden. His administration has also refused to work with Biden’s transition team, blocking the release of funds to help smooth the incoming administration’s path and preventing Biden from receiving the daily security briefings a president-elect would normally be entitled to.
Despite the tweet acknowledging Biden’s win, Trump continued to post tweets about unsubstantiated claims that fraud or irregularities cost him the election. And he insisted he doesn’t intend to concede.
“He only won in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA. I concede NOTHING!” Trump said in another tweet. “We have a long way to go. This was a RIGGED ELECTION!”
“WE WILL WIN!” he insisted in another.
The president has launched a series of legal challenges but most have so far been thrown out by the courts.
On Saturday, Trump said his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani would be leading his continued efforts to challenge the election results.
– William Cummings
Fact check:Dominion voting machines didn’t delete votes from Trump, switch them to Biden
Fauci: 200,000 more COVID-19 deaths over next 4 months ‘possible’
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN’s “State of the Union” that projections of more than 200,000 COVID-19 deaths over the winter months could be “possible” but advised that stricter measures could prevent such a scenario.
“The issue is the models are as good as the assumptions you put into the model,” Fauci cautioned. “We’ve got to change those assumptions, we’ve got to say we’re going to turn it around by by very, very vigorously adhering to public health measures.”
Fauci’s comments come as COVID-19 hospitalizations break records in 25 states while the virus spreads exponentially across the country.
The NIAID director has emerged as one of the nation’s foremost communicators on public health guidelines and the science around combatting the coronavirus.
His stardom amid the pandemic has made him a polarizing figure, especially as Fauci has become more willing to criticize President Donald Trump’s rhetoric toward the coronavirus and behavior in the White House.
“Well, I’ve been as transparent and open with telling the administration the facts. What they do with it is a different story,” Fauci told CNN about his experience with the Trump administration.”
Fauci also lamented the stalling of the presidential transition process, saying that “it would be better if we could start working with” the Biden transition team. He did not comment on the president’s unfounded claims that the election was “rigged” or fraudulent.
– Matthew Brown
GOP lawmakers reject ploy to flip electors
Republican leaders in Michigan and three other critical states won by President-elect Joe Biden say they won’t participate in a legally dubious scheme to flip their state’s electors to vote for President Donald Trump. Their comments effectively shut down a half-baked plot some Republicans floated as a last chance to keep Trump in the White House.
State GOP lawmakers in Michigan, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have all said they would not intervene in the selection of electors, who ultimately cast the votes that secure a candidate’s victory. Such a move would violate state law and a vote of the people, several noted.
“I do not see, short of finding some type of fraud — which I haven’t heard of anything — I don’t see us in any serious way addressing a change in electors,” said Rusty Bowers, Arizona’s Republican House speaker.
Bowers said he’s been inundated with emails pleading for the legislature to intervene. “They are mandated by statute to choose according to the vote of the people,” he said.
The idea loosely involves GOP-controlled legislatures dismissing Biden’s popular vote wins in their states and opting to select Trump electors. While the endgame was unclear, it appeared to hinge on the expectation that a conservative-leaning Supreme Court would settle any dispute over the move.
Still, it has been promoted by Trump allies, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and is an example of misleading information and false claims fueling skepticism among Trump supporters about the integrity of the vote.
– Bob Christie and Nicholas Riccardi, The Associated Press
Counter-protesters clash with Trump supporters after DC rally
WASHINGTON — Tens of thousands of people clad in red, white and blue rallied and marched in support of outgoing President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., on Saturday afternoon to protest supposed “voter fraud” in the 2020 presidential election. But as night fell, skirmishes between protesters and counter-protesters broke out across the city.
At least 20 people had been arrested as of Saturday evening on a variety of charges, including assault and weapons possession, The Associated Press reported. One stabbing was reported, two police officers were injured and several firearms were also recovered by police.
The crowd was largely protesting “voter fraud,” to “show support for our President” and to “preserve the integrity of the vote,” according to various event pages. Trump has refused to concede and leveled baseless allegations of voter fraud to falsely claim the election was stolen from him.
Most of the rally participants were not wearing face masks, which help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The massive crowd, filled with red Make America Great Again hats and large flags with Trump’s name, was an unusual site in the nation’s capital, a liberal city. Biden won D.C with 93% of the vote
A group of several dozen people — many wearing all black — moved through the streets, targeting anyone in Trump attire. A group of Trump supporters were dining at P.J. Clarke’s near the White House when someone launched a firework at them, which exploded near a couple’s table as they walked away.
– Christal Hayes, N’dea Yancey-Bragg and Grace Hauck
