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Bolton Slams Trump's Reluctance to Concede as Republicans Ramp up Pressure on POTUS

© REUTERS / HANNAH MCKAYU.S. President Donald Trump drives a golf cart at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, U.S., November 22, 2020
U.S. President Donald Trump drives a golf cart at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, U.S., November 22, 2020 - Sputnik International
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Late last week, US President Donald Trump tweeted that he wonders why Democrat Joe Biden is "so quickly forming a Cabinet when my investigators have found hundreds of thousands of fraudulent votes", which POTUS claimed is "enough to 'flip' at least four" swing states.

Former US National Security Adviser John Bolton has told CNN that the projected winner of the 3 November presidential election, Joe Biden, will be sworn in on schedule in January, claiming that "the real question is how much damage [President Donald] Trump can do before that happens".

On Sunday, Bolton described Trump's drive to overturn the election as a sign of "raw political power" rather than a legal battle, something that the ex-adviser argued is aimed at sowing political chaos.

"Right now, Trump is throwing rocks through windows, he is the political equivalent of a street rioter", Bolton, who served as national security adviser under POTUS, asserted.

The Republican was echoed by fellow party member and another former Trump administration national security adviser, Herbert Raymond (HR) McMaster, who said in an interview with CBS News' Face the Nation that Trump's push to review the election results is "very corrosive".

"It's playing into the hands of our adversaries", McMaster claimed, in remarks that came after one more Republican, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, also voiced confidence that Biden would be sworn in on 20 January, adding that he "was embarrassed" about the party leadership's unwillingness to admit the election results.

Speaking to CNN, he described Trump recently pressuring state legislators "to somehow try to change the outcome" as a "completely outrageous" move. According to Hogan, the US is now "beginning to look like we're in a banana republic".

© Sputnik /  / Go to the mediabank National Security Adviser John Bolton
Bolton Slams Trump's Reluctance to Concede as Republicans Ramp up Pressure on POTUS - Sputnik International
National Security Adviser John Bolton

He then urged Trump to "stop golfing and concede", in a tweet that apparently referred to POTUS hitting the golf course for a second time last weekend.

The call came as Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski, tweeted that "[Trump's] pressure campaign on state legislators to influence the electoral outcome is not only unprecedented but inconsistent with our democratic process". She insisted that time has come "to begin the full and formal transition process".

This followed lawyer Sidney Powell vowing a "biblical" revelation about POTUS' allegations of election fraud in Georgia late last week. The Trump campaign responded by stating that Powell was no longer a member of the Trump legal team and not a lawyer for the president.

Poll Reveals Republican Support for Trump

In a separate development last week, a new poll conducted by Reuters and IPSOS revealed that at least 52% of Republicans believe Donald Trump "rightfully" won the 2020 presidential election, something that he has repeatedly stated himself on Twitter.

The survey also showed that 73% of all respondents believe that Biden generally "won" the election, without speculating on how "fair" this victory was.

Trump has, meanwhile, tweeted that he cannot accept the election results, "with hundreds of thousands of fraudulent votes cast, enough to easily flip the election".

He wondered why Biden is "so quickly forming a Cabinet when my investigators have found hundreds of thousands of fraudulent votes, enough to 'flip' at least four states, which in turn is more than enough to win the election".

Data showing alleged possible election irregularities in the state of Michigan on the morning of November 4, 2020. - Sputnik International
Trump Tweets Charts Detailing Disappearance of Election Night Lead Due to Pro-Biden ‘Vote Dumping’
POTUS expressed hope that the courts and legislatures "will have the courage to do what has to be done to maintain the integrity of our elections, and the United States of America itself".

Major US news networks have by and large declared Democrat Joe Biden the winner after razor-thin margins in several key swing states kept the victor unclear for days.

Trump immediately questioned it and his legal teams across various districts have filed numerous lawsuits to invalidate the results, most of them unsuccessful. POTUS has so far refused to work with the Biden team on a transition process since the Democrat proclaimed himself president-elect.

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