A young Republican senator wants to step into the ring for US President Donald Trump next week in order to claim one final, symbolic victory: Josh Hawley of Missouri has announced that he will oppose the nomination of Joe Biden as the new president of the United States will object through the electors. Hawley said Biden’s election was only brought about through massive electoral fraud and violations of electoral law. He received corresponding requests to speak from citizens of his state around the clock. It is his job to raise those concerns, Hawley said on Fox News.
Hawley’s announcement is seen by political insiders, including the Republicans, less as a real defense for Trump than as an attempt to position himself as the young heir of the great populist Trump for the next presidential election.
The Senator can no longer prevent Biden’s appointment: Both chambers of Congress have to confirm the vote of the electors and there is no doubt that Biden’s victory will remain. Hawley only has the option to force a two-hour debate on his issue. Donald Trump, who still says that Biden was not legitimately elected, has even lost his closest confidante on the matter in the last few meters: Vice President Mike Pence has asked a court to dismiss a lawsuit by Trump supporters aimed at Pence must prevent Biden from being ordered. The meanwhile Trump fan Lindsey Graham has already signaled that he considers it problematic if there should have been irregularities in the election. However, he asked for specific evidence, which the Trump team has not yet been able to provide.
The Republican establishment is still loyal to Trump for a few days – but not out of solidarity, but because the coming week will decide who will move from the state of Georgia to the Senate. Georgia is currently represented by two Republicans. The Trump party has to hold one of the two in order to maintain a majority in the Senate. Should they lose both of them, there would be a 50-50 tie in the Senate. Vice President Kamala Harris would then be the decisive factor in votes. That would be a horror idea for Republicans. Senator Graham said on Fox News that if the Democrats control the Senate in addition to the White House and House of Representatives, they would destroy “the entire legacy of the Trump era.”
Indeed, most observers assume that the Democrats will leave no stone unturned if they can govern. Donald Trump finds this scenario unpleasant for another reason: The Democrats should never miss an opportunity to track Trump and his family for their activities in the US administration. Above all, Trump had endowed his daughter Ivanka and his son-in-law Jared Kushner with far-reaching powers, which, however, were beyond any parliamentary control. Therefore, the President himself will be traveling to Georgia in the coming days to campaign.
In addition to domestic policy, Trump could attempt a final exonerating attack on the foreign policy stage. For a few days now, B 52 long-range bombers have been flying over the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. January 3rd marks the first anniversary of the US government’s proclaimed assassination of Iranian General Ghassem Soleimani in Iraq by US drones. Trump has always praised this action as a particular highlight of his policy, because the general has the “blood of thousands of American soldiers on his hands,” as Senator Graham said. Now Iran is allegedly planning an act of revenge. But the Iranian UN mission has written to UN Secretary General António Guterres warning against dangerous military adventures by the USA. “Warmongering measures” could bring the situation in the region to an “alarming level”, the letter says.
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