Trump Pushes Through Media's Attempt To Pit Him Against Barr, Refuses To Back Down from Election Fight
This fight is far from done.
A day after giving what he billed as “the most important speech of my life” to denounce fraud in the November election and press his claims to actually have won, President Donald Trump on Thursday took media questions about the battle so far.
He’s not backing down a bit.
In particular, Trump was asked about Attorney General William Barr — one of the administration’s most prominent cabinet officers, and a man who has not been shy about taking on the mainstream media when it matters.
NEW: Reporter: “Do you still have confidence in Bill Barr?”
President Trump: “Ask me that in a number of weeks from now.”pic.twitter.com/ctJ8udGxDL
— Jennifer Franco (@jennfranconews) December 3, 2020
In an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Barr said the DOJ had not seen evidence of the kind of widespread election fraud that could overturn the results of voting, which could give Democratic nominee Joe Biden the keys to the White House.
The question might well have been intended to bait Trump into an ad hominem attack on the AG, but the president’s answer was simple:
“He hasn’t done anything, he hasn’t looked,” Trump said. “When he looks, he’ll see the kind of evidence that right now you’re seeing in the Georgia Senate. You know, they’re going through hearings right now and they’re finding tremendous volumes.”
Still, Trump’s frustration was evident.
“So they haven’t looked very hard, which is a disappointment to be honest with you, because massive fraud, whether you go to Wisconsin … or Michigan, or you look what’s happening in Georgia, as an example, or Pennsylvania, if you look at Nevada … or Arizona … we’ve found massive fraud, and in other states also,” Trump said.
Obviously, the states Trump named were battlegrounds in the Nov. 3 vote, and their results remain disputed by the Trump camp.
In his interview with the AP, Barr apparently undercut Trump’s central thesis when he said the DOJ has followed up on allegations that involved hundreds or even thousands of votes, but it’s clear from Trump’s interview on Thursday that he does not appear deterred.
“This is probably the most fraudulent election that anyone’s ever seen,” he said, speaking no doubt for the millions and millions Americans who cast their votes for him.
Then came the real question: “Do you still have confidence in Bill Barr?”
“Ask me that in a number of weeks,” Trump said.
Plenty of social media users read that as an attack on Barr’s handling of the election.
I used to have confidence in Barr now not so much. It’s as if he closed his eyes and is just along for the ride. He appears to have swapped sides it seems to me.
— Tim Wood (@WoodyTL08081970) December 3, 2020
Yes, he needs to look,but he’s got his eyes closed so tight. Truth with prevail..the the darkness will come to light. I hope Bill Barry you will open your eyes!
— SMoore (@SMoore20122008) December 3, 2020
But not everyone was convinced, holding out the possibility there’s more going on than meets the eye.
I like to think Barr is quietly preparing; a smart leader doesn’t broadcast their strategy.
— Karystus ??✝️ (@karystus) December 3, 2020
That could well be, but it’s also good to remember that Trump’s personnel preferences have rarely been a matter of reading tea leaves.
Whether in his Twitter account or in personal interviews, the president has rarely been reticent about calling out cabinet member who wasn’t pleasing him — just look at the two-year tenure of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, when hardly a day went by without some open discord between the White House and the Justice Department.
The president could have publicly pitted himself against the attorney general. He could have lashed out over foot-dragging when it comes to fraud allegations.
At a moment when the fate of the presidency hangs in the balance, when a Democratic election “victory” is surrounded with the rank odor of corruption and thousands of allegations of fraud, Trump has more on his mind than disputes stoked by the mainstream media.
Besides, “in a number of weeks,” the issue will almost certainly be decided — either Biden’s election will stand, despite the storm cloud of suspicion that surrounds it, or courts will find a way to validate the verdict of more than 70 million American voters and keep Trump in office.
Until that day, as Trump has repeatedly made clear, the fight is far from over.
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