CNN anchor Anderson Cooper last night delivered a scathing ‘slow clap’ monologue as Mitch McConnell finally accepted Donald Trump‘s election defeat.
The Senate Majority Leader congratulated Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on their victory on Tuesday morning, saying: ‘The electoral college has spoken.’
But this acceptance of the democratic process wasn’t enough for Cooper who mocked McConnell for not bowing down when CNN called the result.
Cooper said: ‘So, six weeks, dozens of court cases, two Supreme Court rejections, one fascist rally, four stabbings, countless threats against election officials who were just doing their jobs and more than $200 million in deceptive Trump fundraising since the election: A slow clap, everyone, for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.’
He continued: ‘After all it’s not like McConnell said anything that wasn’t obvious the Saturday after the election, five weeks ago when the news organisations called the result for president-elect Biden.’
Cooper said: ‘So, six weeks, dozens of court cases, two Supreme Court rejections, one fascist rally, four stabbings, countless threats against election officials who were just doing their jobs and more than $200 million in deceptive Trump fundraising since the election: A slow clap, everyone, for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’
US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (left) and Joe Biden
Electors officially cast their votes for their respective states for president on Monday, cementing Biden’s victory with 306 Electoral College votes to Trump’s 232.
Prior to this McConnell had refused to throw in the towel, telling reporters two weeks after the election: ‘What we all say about it is frankly irrelevant. All of this will happen right on time and we’ll swear in a new president on January 20th.’
President Trump is still refusing to leave the White House quietly and has made renewed claims of voter fraud on Twitter in recent days.
McConnell meanwhile is facing a MAGA-led backlash from within his own party from those who believe that litigation could still carve a path to victory.
Incoming Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, was among them, tweeting: ‘Every “Republican” that isn’t fighting for @realDonaldTrump’s 2020 landslide victory is supporting the Chinese Communist Party takeover of America.’
Trump campaign attorney Lin Wood went even further, calling McConnell a ‘traitor’ and vowing: ‘His day of judgment is coming.’
McConnell ‘is NOT a Patriot. Ask his wife. She knows,’ wrote Wood, referring to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, McConnell’s wife of 27 years.
Trump tweeted this DailyMail.com article, writing: ‘Mitch, 75,000,000 VOTES, a record for a sitting President (by a lot). Too soon to give up. Republican Party must finally learn to fight. People are angry!’
‘McConnell just wants power, influence, & money. He is willing to sell America to get what he wants. McConnell is a traitor to American Patriots,’ Wood continued.
Recently pardoned former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn joined the outcry, retweeting a Twitter user who called on ‘American patriots’ to let ‘McConnell know we aren’t on board with his ‘President Elect Biden’ mindset.’
Flynn told Trump: ‘millions & millions & millions of Patriots stand behind, alongside & in front of you during this crucible moment in US History where our very Republic is on the line. We won’t fail or cower like some in the Republican Party have shown.’
On Tuesday, McConnell warned his fellow GOP senators not to join Trump’s continued attempts to overturn the Electoral College results.
In private discussion, McConnell warned Republican senators not to dispute the Electoral College when Congress convenes in a joint session January 6 to confirm the results.
On Tuesday, McConnell warned his fellow GOP senators not to join Trump’s continued attempts to overturn the Electoral College results
That fight would yield a ‘terrible vote’ for Republicans, McConnell told the senators, according to two people granted anonymity to discuss the call, according to Politico. They would have to choose whether to back Trump or publicly buck him.
Republicans are worried about bad effects on the Georgia runoff election, where two incumbent Republican senators, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, face Democratic challengers Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in a state that flipped in November for Biden.
McConnell has been a strong supporter of most Trump efforts. But the turn of events six weeks after Election Day showed the Kentucky senator, backed by his leadership team, seeking to normalize relations with the coming Biden presidency while avoiding the spectacle of pitched floor fight that would divide the party as Trump reluctantly leaves office.