GOP Governor Rips Trump’s Refusal To Concede: ‘Can’t Think Of Worse Time To Stall Transition’

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) at the formal governor's office at the State House in Boston, Massachusetts on April 15, 2015. (Photo by John Blanding/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
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Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) on Tuesday took aim President Trump for stalling President-elect Joe Biden’s transition amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The sitting POTUS has continued waging baseless claims of widespread voter fraud following Biden’s projected win last weekend.

After criticizing the Attorney General Bill Barr’s memo that allows federal prosecutors to investigate unfounded allegations of election fraud in the 2020 presidential race — a reversal of long-held DOJ policy — as “wildly inappropriate,” Baker went on to rebuke the Trump administration’s refusal to let Biden formally begin the transition process, especially in light of surging COVID-19 cases.

“I can’t think of a worse time to stall a transition than amid a deadly pandemic that the federal government continues to own primary responsibility for responding to,” Baker said.

Baker said that if the Trump campaign “has legitimate legal challenges, they should bring them to court,” and that those lawsuits should be dealt with “as quickly and as fairly as possible.”

Baker — who “blanked” his presidential vote after Biden’s presidential win was projected on Saturday — added that he is “aware of no legitimate claims of wrongdoing anywhere near the scale it would take to effect this outcome.”

“And there’s no credible third party entity that’s verified the President’s claims in any way,” Baker said. “Continuing to make these claims erodes trust in the system when, in fact, the election system is working exactly as it was designed to do.”

Additionally, Baker brought up that many Republican officials overseeing elections in battleground states with tight races — which include Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger — had denied the Trumpworld’s claims of voting irregularities.

“Every campaign season we hear a lot about doing what’s best for the country,” Baker said. “And what this President is doing at this point in time is not in the best interest of this country. The administration needs to move forward and cooperate with the President-elect’s transition team immediately.”

Last week, Baker characterized Trump’s efforts to delegitimize the election process by spouting unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud as Biden appeared to lead in several swing states as “damaging to democracy.”

After multiple news outlets projected Biden’s presidential victory on Saturday, Baker emerged as one of the few elected Republican officials to congratulate the President-elect.

Watch Baker’s remarks below:

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Notable Replies

  1. It’s Charlie Baker, not a real Republican in Trump’s view. Got to get a real Republican governor to rip Trump a new one.
    Kemp
    DeWine
    Abbott
    DeSantis
    Who has the juice with Trump?

  2. Baker . . . added that he is “aware of no legitimate claims of wrongdoing anywhere near the scale it would take to effect this outcome.”

    Tell that to Graham, et al, who bought into this hook, line and sinker:

    A Pennsylvania postal worker whose claims have been cited by top Republicans as potential evidence of widespread voting irregularities admitted to U.S. Postal Service investigators that he fabricated the allegations, according to three officials briefed on the investigation and a statement from a House congressional committee.

    Richard Hopkins’s claim that a postmaster in Erie, Pa., instructed postal workers to backdate ballots mailed after Election Day was cited by Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) in a letter to the Justice Department calling for a federal investigation. Attorney General William P. Barr subsequently authorized federal prosecutors to open probes into credible allegations of voting irregularities and fraud, a reversal of long-standing Justice Department policy.

    But on Monday, Hopkins, 32, told investigators from the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General that the allegations were not true, and he signed an affidavit recanting his claims,

  3. Avatar for tsp tsp says:

    This is a very good start, and regrettably overdue, at that. America needs a few more…America needs a LOT more GOPers who care more about the future of America than the future of the Dotard’s fantasies of power to step up and say the same. Just because the election is over does not mean that insisting that America’s democracy continue is yesterday’s mantra. Insisting that American’s future continue, as our founders intended, is more important now than ever. GOPers, speak up!

  4. Well Covid Kim (that’s Iowa’s sorry governor) thinks the results are inconclusive and we need to wait for investigations. Or whatever.

    She announced that while still refusing to issue a mask mandate. Malarky-town bat-malarky.

  5. Avatar for gonzoc gonzoc says:

    It’s ALWAYS the PUKES who are guilty of ELECTION FRAUD!! ALWAYS!!!

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