Trump’s Allies Can’t Decide Whether To Boycott Georgia’s Runoff Elections

Topline

President Donald Trump is falsely claiming Georgia’s November election was irreparably marred by vote-rigging, but he still wants the state’s Republicans to vote in two Senate runoffs next month, a contradiction that has led a few extreme Trump supporters to call for boycotts of the runoffs even as Trump pitches them as must-win contests.

Key Facts

Crucial Quote

“Some have talked about staying home,” State Rep. Vernon Jones (D), a Trump supporter, said at the rally, which was billed as a press conference. “You have to come out.”

Chief Critic

“I’m gonna disagree with Vernon Jones,” Wood said on the same stage as Jones, about three minutes later. “We’re not gonna go vote on January 5th in another machine made by China … Why would you go back and vote in another rigged election?”

Surprising Fact

Even though Trump wants his supporters to vote for Loeffler and Perdue, he said Tuesday that Gov. Brian Kemp (R) should “call off” the runoff elections, baselessly implying the two senators would win reelection outright if enough fraudulent ballots are uncovered.

Key Background

Trump and his allies have spent weeks spreading inaccurate rumors about voter fraud in Georgia and nearly every other swing state, part of their legal and political push to overturn Trump’s electoral defeat. In particular, Powell is promoting a false conspiracy theory that Georgia’s voting machines were rigged by foreign governments, multinational corporations and elected officials from both political parties. This gambit has led some of Trump’s supporters to grow suspicious of the country’s election systems, and a small number of hardliners like Powell and Wood are now responding by deciding not to vote in the first place.

Tangent

Some Georgians are calling on Trump’s allies to tone down their conspiratorial rhetoric, noting that officials like Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger have received death threats due to their defense of the state’s voting system. At Wednesday’s rally, Powell and Wood did not accept this idea. Wood led a “lock him up” chant against Gov. Kemp and falsely claimed the governor and Raffensperger took bribes from China to rig the election.

Further Reading

Social media chatter calls for GOP voter boycott of Georgia U.S. Senate runoff races (11Alive)

Trump’s conspiracies have MAGA world talking Georgia boycott (Politico)