Karl Rove, a Fox News contributor and one of the most prominent Republican strategists, gently told President Trump and his supporters in a Wall Street Journal op-ed Wednesday evening that the presidential race is over and Trump lost. Republicans did much better than expected on Election Day, but "the White House changed hands," he writes. No amount of legal jujitsu will change that, Rove explained:
Mr. Trump is now pursuing legal challenges in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, and Nevada, and there will be an automatic recount in Georgia, given Mr. Biden's 0.29-point lead there. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is correct that Mr. Trump is "100 percent within his rights" to go to court over concerns about fraud and transparency. But the president's efforts are unlikely to move a single state from Mr. Biden's column, and certainly they're not enough to change the final outcome. [Karl Rove, The Wall Street Journal]
Rove said Biden has insurmountable leads in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, and Georgia, enough to give him 306 electoral votes, unless Trump can somehow "prove systemic fraud, with illegal votes in the tens of thousands. There is no evidence of that so far." Once Trump's "days in court are over," he added, "the president should do his part to unite the country by leading a peaceful transition and letting grievances go."
Fox News — owned, like the Journal, by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. empire, called the race for Biden on Saturday, but its prime-time opinion hosts have been slow to recognize Trump's defeat. One of them, Fox News regular Geraldo Rivera, also told Trump it's time to move on late Wednesday. Peter Weber
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
10 concert tours to see this upcoming fallThe Week Recommends Get ready for pumpkin spice season with concerts from big-name artists
-
How to put student loan payments on pauseThe Explainer If you are starting to worry about missing payments, deferment and forbearance can help
-
Is Kash Patel’s fate sealed after Kirk shooting missteps?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The FBI’s bungled response in the immediate aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting has director Kash Patel in the hot seat
-
Russia slams Kyiv, hits government buildingSpeed Read This was Moscow's largest aerial assault since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022
-
China's Xi hosts Modi, Putin, Kim in challenge to USSpeed Read Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Asian leaders at an SCO summit
-
Russian strike on Kyiv kills 23, hits EU officesSpeed Read The strike was the second-largest since Russia invaded in 2022
-
UN votes to end Lebanon peacekeeping missionSpeed Read The Trump administration considers the UN's Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to be a 'waste of money'
-
Israeli double strike on Gaza hospital kills 20Speed Read The dead include five journalists who worked for The Associated Press, Reuters and Al Jazeera
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
Kyiv marks independence as Russia downplays peaceSpeed Read President Vladimir Putin has no plans to meet with Zelenskyy for peace talks pushed by President Donald Trump
-
Trump halts Gaza visas as Israelis protest warSpeed Read Laura Loomer voiced her concerns over injured Palestinian kids being brought to the US for treatment and a potential 'Islamic invasion'
