Republican senators involved in a planned challenge to the results of the presidential election defended the widely-criticized effort Sunday, while Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) indicated he would decline to join.
On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Chuck Todd grilled Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who has signed onto a letter along with 10 other senators who said they would oppose the Electoral College count, calling him an “arsonist” for promoting the unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud that have led to widespread mistrust of the election results among Republicans.
“We are now locked into a destructive vicious circle. … You made an allegation that there was widespread fraud. You have failed to offer specific evidence of that widespread fraud,” Todd told Johnson. “But you’re demanding an investigation on the grounds that there are allegations of widespread fraud.”
Johnson insisted he “didn’t start this” and instead accused the press of ignoring the Senate’s investigation into President-elect Joe Biden’s son Hunter.
Todd asked Johnson, who is up for re-election in 2022, whether he was “simply trying to curry favor with constituents of the president.”
Johnson replied that he was “trying to be transparent.”
Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), both of whom have announced they will challenge the results, are widely seen as potential 2024 contenders for the GOP presidential nomination.
Cruz, meanwhile, defended his participation in the objection on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” and criticized those who have accused him of sedition for seeking to overturn the election results.
“I think we need to tone down the rhetoric. This is already a volatile situation. It’s like a tinderbox and throwing lit matches into it,” Cruz said, criticizing “hyperbole” and “angry language.”
Sens. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) are among Cruz’s Republican colleagues who have criticized the move.
Meanwhile, Graham, one of Trump’s most vocal allies in the chamber, said on Sunday that he would not join the effort, which he called a “political dodge.” He singled out for criticism the 11 senators’ call for an electoral commission to audit the results in swing states won by Biden.
“Proposing a commission at this late date – which has zero chance of becoming reality – is not effectively fighting for President Trump,” Graham tweeted Sunday. “It appears to be more of a political dodge than an effective remedy.”
Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) said that while his name is not on the letter, he supported the effort. Perdue will defend his seat in one of two Georgia runoffs Tuesday, but the results will not yet be certified by Wednesday when Congress votes.
“I repeatedly called for a special session of the General Assembly to investigate” allegations of voter fraud in Georgia, Perdue said on “Sunday Morning Futures.” “None of that happened. And so I started calling out for – the only thing left for the president is for us to object. And I agreed that I would do that.”
Meanwhile, CNN’s Jake Tapper challenged Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on the efforts, with DeWine saying people were “concerned” about electoral integrity and Tapper countering that those people had “been lied to.”
“The big picture, with changes in technology, potential hacking, all of these things, we need to have a commission, as Sen. [Rob] Portman says, that takes a long look at this. Not something you can do in 10 days,” DeWine responded. “Why is this important? If for no other reason … there are a lot of people out there that are questioning this election. People need to have confidence.”
“Forget me…there are Republican senators who say that people in your party are doing real, lasting damage to American democracy by fully embracing these dangerous conspiracy theories,” Tapper responded.