Inauguration Day is just a week away amid outgoing President Donald Trump finally conceding the 2020 election almost two months later. However, he recently announced he will not attend the ceremony of President-elect Joe Biden.
The events following November’s General Election pass for the climax of an action-packed blockbuster. Trump initially refused to concede to the President-elect and launched dozens of lawsuits in the name of baseless claims of voter fraud. Then on Jan. 6 during a Washington, D.C. rally promoted by Trump to contest the certification of the Electoral College votes, hundreds of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.
This unprecedented record of events has left Republicans skewed. Some of the president’s most loyal supporters are denouncing his strategy to challenge the outcome of the 2020 election and incite a riot at the Capitol but his small yet fierce group of Black male supporters arent as critical.
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“The fact that he did not initially concede is the smartest thing he could have done,” first time Trump voter, Will Coggins, 33, told theGrio. Coggins is a Black man and agrees with Trump’s decision to question the legitimacy of the election.
Coggins is a part of a small but loyal union of Black men who support Trump and the Republican party. Twelve percent of Black men voted for Trump in the 2020 presidential election in comparison to just 6% of Black women, per an AP VoteCast Survey with 13 % of Black men voting for him in 2016. Trump also received endorsements and praise from Black male celebrities like 50 Cent and Lil Wayne.
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Coggins believes the certification of votes in places like Georgia is a threat to our voting system — this despite a court ruling by a judge (appointed by President Trump), dismissing claims by the Trump campaign of any voter irregularities.
“As a country we have a problem if the votes are certified because it means your vote no longer counts which is a dangerous position to be in.”
Trump has filed over 50 failed lawsuits accusing states like Georgia, Pennsylvania and Arizona of being involved in some type of voter fraud. Most of the cases have been denied, dismissed or withdrawn. According to NBC News in Trump v. Boockvar, the federal Judge of the case Matthew Brann wrote “this claim, like Frankenstein’s Monster, has been haphazardly stitched together.”
In a recent interview, Joy Reid of MSNBC asked Ja’Ron Smith, a Black man and former Trump aide, if he believed Biden won the 2020 election. His reaction went viral.
“Well, I think we should let the nation run its course on the investigations and lawsuits and dealing with the vote and once that is decided we can confirm it,” he said.
Despite Trump’s support from Black Republicans and attempts to push through lawsuits, some of his longtime allies are saying he is making the wrong moves. On a recent episode of This Week with George Stephanopoulo, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who advised Trump on his debates, shared his misgivings.
“Listen, I’ve been a supporter of the president, I voted for him twice but elections have consequences and we cannot continue to act as if something happened here that didn’t happen,” Christie said.
Christie added, “They allege fraud outside of the courtroom but when they go inside the courtroom they don’t plead fraud and they don’t argue fraud…you have an obligation to present the evidence, the evidence has not been presented.”
Even televangelist Pat Robertson, a known Trump supporter and conservative, said that Trump does not live in reality.
“With all his talent, and the ability to raise money and draw large crowds, the President still lives in an alternate reality,” he said on a recent episode on The 700 Club. He continued with, “And I think it would be well to say, ‘You’ve had your day and it’s time to move on.'”
As reported by theGrio, a USA Today/Suffolk University survey says only 71% of Republicans say they would vote for him again with 16% saying they would consider it.
But regardless of the push back, Trump is relentless. He pushed out tweets prior to the riot urging his supporters to travel to D.C. on Jan. 6 to protest the certification of the Electoral College votes. Twitter has since deactivated Trump’s account in fear of “the risk of further incitement of violence.” Members of Trump’s own team such as Education Secretary Betsy DeVos have resigned due to the violence that took place at the Capitol which left five dead.
But still, Black Trump supporters like Coggins support the president and the Republican Party. Before the riots took place, Coggins says he will never go back to the Democratic Party because he believes Trump is, “true to the core.”
Outgoing Georgia state representative, a Black man, Vernon Jones echoed similar sentiments. The day after domestic terrorists took over the Capitol, Jones took to Twitter to announce his switch from the Democratic Party to the GOP. He thanked Trump for his admirable leadership. He says he is leaving the Democrats because he believes the party “embraces identity politics and victimhood.”
“Today, I take this opportunity to Thank & Salute Pres. Trump for The Contributions & Leadership He has Provided to our country & it’s Citizens,” he wrote. “His Vision for Keeping America First will Forever be the Anthem For The Ages!!! God Blessed America With Pres. Donald J. Trump!!!,” he tweeted.
Inauguration Day is Jan. 20.
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