Donald Trump: “We will never accept defeat”

Washington – President Donald Trump He promised that “we will never accept defeat” when he spoke Wednesday before a rally of thousands of supporters shortly before Congress opened a joint session to confirm Joe Biden’s election victory.

Trump took to the stage at the ‘Save America’ rally, which drew thousands of supporters who flooded the nation’s capital as the president’s Republican allies rallied in the House and Senate to oppose his November electoral defeat. Biden.

Trump urged Vice President Mike Pence, who will play a largely ceremonial role in the process, to avoid certification of Biden’s victory, even though the Vice President does not have that power.

“Our country has had enough,” Trump said. “We’re not taking it anymore,” he added. However, Pence challenged Trump, saying he does not have the authority to reject electoral votes that will give Biden the presidency.

Lou Murray, a Boston life insurance salesman who came to the meeting, said he and many others hope Congress will refrain from certifying the election outcome.

Organizers plan to march to the Capitol in the afternoon, where Congress will vote to confirm the results of the Electoral College, which Trump continues to question.

Several prominent Trump supporters were expected to attend the protests, which kicked off Tuesday with a rally in Liberty Square, a few blocks from the White House. It was there that the protesters – many of them without masks – expressed their rejection of the electoral college vote. As night fell, the temperature dropped and it rained constantly, hundreds of people stopped in the square.

“I only came to support the president”said David Wideman, a 45-year-old firefighter who traveled from Memphis, Tennessee.

Widem acknowledged that he was “confused” by the string of defeats the president’s legal team suffered in their attempt to reverse election results and was unsure of Trump’s remaining options.

“I’m not sure what you can do right now, but I want to hear what you have to say,” Wideman said.

Trump tweeted his support for the protesters: “Washington is inundated with people who do not want radical left-wing Democrats to steal an election victory. Our country has had enough of it, they don’t take it anymore. We hear (and love) you from the Oval Office. Make America Great Again! “

The protests have forced local authorities and law enforcement to prepare for possible violent street clashes. Many of the companies in the center of the capital closed their windows for fear that the demonstrations would turn into riots such as in May and June, when dozens of companies were destroyed.