Former National Security Adviser John Bolton on Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” called President Donald Trump’s “claims of election fraud are baseless.”
He called on leaders of the Republican Party to explain that to Trump’s voters.
Bolton said, “I think it’s very important for leaders of the Republican Party to explain to our voters, who are not as stupid as the Democrats think, that in fact Trump has lost the election and his claims of election fraud are baseless. The fact is we’ve seen litigation in all the key battleground states, and it has failed consistently. The Trump campaign is doing the legal equivalent of pinching pennies. Where are the silver dollars? Where’s the evidence? As every day goes by, it’s clearer there isn’t any evidence. If the Republican voters are only hearing Donald Trump’s misrepresentations, it’s not surprising they believe it. It’s critical for other Republican leaders to stand up and explain what actually happened. Donald Trump lost by any evidence we have so far by a free and valid election.”
He continued, “I think this is a character test for the Republican Party. I don’t buy the argument that Donald Trump has hypnotized Republican voters, or they’re not capable of accepting the truth. This is a myth that’s being perpetrated that’s not true. It requires people to explain what happened. The Trump campaign simply has no evidence. Their basic argument is this was a conspiracy to vast and so successful that there’s no evidence of it. If that’s true, I really want to know who the people are who pulled this off. We need to hire them at the CIA. The fact is this is all blue smoke and mirrors. I think people will accept that if they see leaders, they respect explain it to them.”
Guest anchor Martha Raddatz asked, “You worked for President Trump. What do you make of his refusal to concede this race?”
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. I don’t expect him to go graciously. I do expect him to go. I think pretty soon we’ll get the stab in the back theories. We’ll get the dark conspiracy theories continued. He will make life as difficult as he can for the incoming Biden administration. I think that harms the country. I’ve been through five separate transitions I know how difficult it is coming in and going out. Every day he delays under the pretense that he’s asking for his legal remedies ultimately is to the country’s disadvantage.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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