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Trump faces Republican ire after claiming polls 'fraud': 'Nation demands leaders accept win and loss with grace'

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, for instance, said there is no defense for the president's comments made on Thursday

Days after his ally Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, slammed President Donald Trump over claiming victory in the presidential election of November 3, other Republicans have also criticized the commander-in-chief. Maryland’s GOP Governor Larry Hogan and Illinois GOP Representative Adam Kinzinger took a dig at the incumbent after he made a rambling appearance at the White House on Thursday, November 5, and claimed a massive electoral fraud but did not produce any evidence to back it.

Hogan, who is serving since 2015, tweeted a video clip of his interview with Margaret Hoover and said: “There is no defense for the President's comments tonight undermining our Democratic process. America is counting the votes, and we must respect the results as we always have before. No election or person is more important than our Democracy.”

Kinzinger, who is 42 and serving in the House since 2011, even called the situation “insane”. In a tweet, he said: “We want every vote counted, yes every legal vote (of course). But, if you have legit concerns about fraud present EVIDENCE and take it to court. STOP Spreading debunked misinformation... This is getting insane.”

Jeff Flake, a former Republican senator from Arizona who has been a Trump critic for long, tweeted saying no Republican should be okay with what Trump said. He called it “unacceptable”.

In another tweet, he appealed to his party saying: “Fellow Republicans, don't wait until the election is called to defend our elections and our democratic institutions. The time is now.”

President embarrassed and ashamed him, says GOP winner

Willian Cogswell, a Republican member who has won a seat in the House from South Carolina in this election, also expressed his disappointment with Trump tweeting he was “embarrassed and ashamed” by the president’s words.

Trump, who appeared before the press in the wee hours of Wednesday after the election looked a tight race to claim that he had already won and threatened to go to the Supreme Court to challenge the alleged fraud, came in front of the press for around 17 minutes again on Thursday. He read notes out of a binder and alleged “suppression” polls and that he was a victim of a “big media, big money and big tech” conspiracy. Trump, however, did not offer any evidence of the alleged conspiracy, nor did he field questions.

Paul Mitchell, a Republican representative from Michigan Republican, suggested that the leaders should accept both wins and losses with “grace and maturity”. In a tweet, he said: “Every legal vote should and will be counted - as they always are. Where there are issues there are ways to address them. If anyone has proof of wrongdoing, it should be presented and resolved. Anything less harms the integrity of our elections and is dangerous for our democracy.”

He added in another tweet that he himself has also experienced defeats and knows how much they hurt. “But our nation demands that its political leaders accept both wins and losses with grace and maturity. Let the voters decide,” he said.

Is the growing concern in the ranks of the GOP an indication that Trump could face a resistance from his own party in case he refuses to concede despite facing a defeat? Russell Lucas, an associate professor of International Relations and Global Studies, Michigan State University, thinks so. Speaking to MEAWW, he said if the president refuses to step down after an official loss, the Republican Party elites may work to push him out so that their party does not suffer significant damage in the future.