Will Trump have his Gettysburg speech? POTUS to join Rudy Giuliani at historic town to hear 'voter fraud' claims
President Donald Trump, whose chances of turning the results of the 2020 presidential election around are fading fast, has not left hopes yet. On Wednesday, November 25, he is expected to join his attorney Rudy Giuliani in the historic town of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania where the state’s GOP lawmakers are holding a “hearing” on charges of electoral fraud in the presidential election held earlier this month.
Pennsylvania, a key state that Trump needed to win in his bid to extend the stay in the White House, on Tuesday, November 24, certified the results of the election to call in favor of President-elect Joe Biden. The outcome dashed the incumbent president’s efforts to block the state from doing so. Democratic Governor Tom Wolf confirmed in a couple of tweets that Secretary of State (Pennsylvania) Kathy Boockvar, also a Democrat, certified the results for the president and vice president. Wolf also said that he signed the certificate of ascertainment for the slate of electors in favor of Biden and Kamala Harris, the vice president-elect.
Today @PAStateDept certified the results of the November 3 election in Pennsylvania for president and vice president of the United States.
— Governor Tom Wolf (@GovernorTomWolf) November 24, 2020
As required by federal law, I’ve signed the Certificate of Ascertainment for the slate of electors for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Again, I want to thank the election officials who have administered a fair and free election during an incredibly challenging time in our commonwealth and country's history.
— Governor Tom Wolf (@GovernorTomWolf) November 24, 2020
Our election workers have been under constant attack and they have performed admirably and honorably.
Trump is still defiant
The GOP is now preparing for retaliation. CNN reported citing two informed sources that Trump was expected to join Giuliani and he asked the aides to plan his travel to the Keystone State. The rally, which will be his first outside the Washington area since Election Day (November 3), was not mentioned on the public schedule that the White House came up with on November 24 night. According to CNN, the sudden plan was being handled internally.
Trump, who has been writing off the outcome of the elections for weeks now, said in a tweet on Monday, November 23, that he recommended the General Services Administration (GSA) to do the needful as far as the transition protocols are concerned. Though in another tweet he posted a day later, Trump said the GSA doesn’t determine who the next president of the US will be.
...fight, and I believe we will prevail! Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 23, 2020
Remember, the GSA has been terrific, and Emily Murphy has done a great job, but the GSA does not determine who the next President of the United States will be.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 24, 2020
The event in Gettysburg is the Trump camp’s latest move to undermine the result of the 2020 election and legitimacy of Biden’s election as the next president.
Along with the Trump campaign, Pennsylvania’s Senate Republicans came up with the plans for the Gettysburg event — a meeting of the Pennsylvania Senate Majority Policy Committee. The aim is to reveal the “irregularities” in the recently-held election. The meeting is being hosted by Pennsylvania state Senate GOP at a hotel and not the state Capitol.
Trump and Giuliani have continued to allege electoral fraud even though they haven’t been able to produce evidence to back their claims. Their conspiracy theories have not been supported by state and local election officials across the US and even a top cybersecurity official at the Department of Homeland Security, Chris Krebs, who was fired by the president. When CNN asked about Trump’s plan to attend the Gettysburg event, White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere did not give a clear response. “I'd refer you to tomorrow's public schedule. I have no additional updates at this time,” he said.
The Pennsylvania event is the first of the three similar events that Trump’s campaign has planned in coordination with GOP state legislators — the others being in Arizona and Michigan. CNN, however, reported that it was not clear whether the president himself will speak at the hearing. His campaign said that the hearing is expected to include “testimony from witnesses who have filed affidavits attesting to 2020 election fraud.”
Another striking feature of the Pennsylvania event is Gettysburg’s historic significance. It is where the most famous battle of the Civil War was fought and the Union succeeded in stopping a Confederate invasion. The battle resulted in a failed charge by troops under Confederate Gen George Prickett that was ousted by the opponents. It is also where Abraham Lincoln delivered his historic speech, citing the US Declaration of Independence that proclaimed that all people are created equal.