In the month since the election, President Donald Trump has turned his attention to overturning the results of his apparent loss to President-elect Joe Biden. But as it has become more apparent that Biden is the duly elected president, Trump has only doubled down on his claims.
Democrats have been increasingly annoyed at the president’s refusal to accept the election and many consider that refusal dangerous to democracy.
During Wednesday’s interview on CNN, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) said, “This is an attempt to overthrow our government. You may not call it a coup but this is an attempted coup.”
Clyburn continued, “[Trump] is in your face, trying to overthrow the will of the people.”
The South Carolina lawmaker directed a message to Republican lawmakers.
“For my Republican colleagues not to speak up in defense of this democracy — the best thing going in the world today — to run the risk of losing this fragile democracy because of the idiosyncrasies of one person. That’s what I think is at stake here,” he said.
Clyburn continued, “We should not allow anything akin to this to be taking place in this country… We should not let this continue.”
Watch the video below:
“This is an attempt to overthrow our government … This is an attempted coup,” @WhipClyburn says about President Trump’s push to overturn the election result.https://t.co/brhR1EmzlA pic.twitter.com/MYAiaI0GsW
— CNN This Morning with Kasie Hunt (@CNNThisMorning) December 8, 2020
Trump is presiding over a split in his own party as he attempts to overturn the election. His most loyal followers have mostly stayed behind him. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) recently told CNN that there’s “no way” the president should concede the election.
Some Republicans have criticized the president for his perpetuations of claims of widespread voter fraud. After a recent Trump speech, Rep Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) tweeted at the president, “Time to delete your account.”
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) has consistently spoken out against Trump’s recent attacks on the U.S. election. As Trump pushed to overturn the election, Romney said, “It is difficult to imagine a worse, more undemocratic action by a sitting American president.”
