Republicans, Including Sen. Blunt, Are Hoping to See Trump Attend Biden's Swearing-In
When President Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden, none of his allies envisioned the outgoing president attending his successor's inauguration. The image remains far-fetched for a president who isn't likely to concede and admitted Sunday that there's nothing that would convince him he lost.
Despite his denial to accept defeat, Republicans and some of his aides are urging Trump to attend Biden's swearing-in. They hope his presence will not only amend the president's rundown reputation, help conserve his future influence, but also prove to Americans that the election was fair.
In an interview with CNN's Dana Bash on State of the Union on Sunday, Missouri Republican Sen. Roy Blunt said he hopes Trump attends the Inaugural Day in Jan., which he is responsible for overseeing. Refraining from calling Biden the president-elect, Blunt admitted that the Democrat would likely be sworn on Jan. 20.
Like other Trump allies who have raised concerns over the president's baseless conspiracies about the election potentially damaging his own, as well as the position of Republicans in the future, Blunt suggested that Trump will be able to retain more influence if he leaves the White House with dignity. He said Trump needs to focus on what's next for him, considering the election works out the way it appears it will.
When Bash asked Blunt if Biden was the president-elect, the Missouri Republican dodged the question saying they are working with the incoming administration on the transition and the inauguration as if they are moving forward. When Bash pressed again on whether Biden was the president-elect, Blunt expressed reluctance saying the title should be applied in mid-December after the Electoral College meets in its states, POLITICO reported.
Noting that there is no official job of the president-elect, Blunt insisted that Biden will be the president-elect when the electors vote for him. Although he seemed to be reluctant to refer to Biden as the president-elect, Blunt admitted that the election was not rigged when the CNN host brought up Trump's claims about widespread voter fraud.
He told Bash that although he thinks the election was not rigged, Blunt noted that there were some things done that shouldn't have been done. He suggested that there were some elements of voter fraud in every election but said he doesn't believe there were enough votes to overturn the election results in favor of the president.