Trump's claim that Pence can 'reject fraudulently chosen electors' quickly shot down

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

published 5 January 2021

President Trump on Tuesday showed no signs of slowing down his push to overturn the presidential election, despite having no evidence to back up his allegations of widespread voter fraud. His most recent Twitter declaration was that Vice President Mike Pence has the power to reject "fraudulently chosen electors" during Wednesday's Electoral College certification. The claim was quickly shot down, with several folks pointing out that Pence's role in overseeing the process is largely ceremonial.

Some critics went even further, suggesting that not only is Trump's understanding of the limits placed upon the vice president's electoral count authority set in an 1887 law incorrect, but also that his words were akin to "an authoritarian despot" trying to hold on to power. Tim O'Donnell

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.