Until today Donald Trump has refused to acknowledge his loss to Joe Biden in the recent elections. As Trump and his allies have pushed for legal action with claims about election fraud, federal judges are beginning to push back.
Trump and Republicans have pushed for taking legal action by filing lawsuits against the election officials, pushing claims without evidence that the process was rigged. No lawsuit has proven successful thus far and judges are beginning to voice out their frustrations towards Trump and his allies. Around 18 cases were filed in the battleground states that Trump needed to win in the elections due to Trump trailing behind Biden by a narrow margin. However, as the votes continue to become more official, the margin between the two candidates has grown.
Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh stated that Trump wants those who voted for him to be assured that the election was fair and secure, even adding that he also wants to assure those who voted for Biden. Despite this constant claim by Trump and his allies, judges across the board have pushed back. Even prior to the election, judges were already skeptical of Trump’s claims of election day misconduct.
One instance was in Pennsylvania, where Trump’s lawyers claimed that their poll observers were left out of the locations where ballots were being canvassed. As the lawyers acknowledged that the observers were allowed within a 15-feet radius of the poll workers, US District Judge Paul Diamond, a George W. Bush appointee, asked them, “I’m sorry, then what’s your problem?”
In a November 4 hearing, Judge Timothy Savage, another George W. Bush appointee, questioned the very claims made by Trump’s lawyers. “I don’t understand how the integrity of the election was affected,” said Savage.
As of late, Trump is now facing numerous calls to allow the transition from his administration to the Biden administration in regard to the COVID-19 response in light of the surge of cases in the country. These calls are increasingly coming from his own administration, while Trump remains laser-focused on contesting the election results. This also comes as over 246,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus while millions remain infected.