SC Gov. McMaster says he still supports Trump for now but will acknowledge Biden win
Gov. Henry McMaster, one of President Donald Trump’s earliest and strongest allies, said Monday he supports the president’s efforts to resolve all questions about alleged election irregularities but will acknowledge an official win by former Vice President Joe Biden at the appropriate time.
“President Trump, and anyone else who has questions about the election, should bring them forward, and they ought to be answered,” McMaster told a State newspaper reporter.
The remaining questions about the election are in their proper place, in the courts, McMaster said. “Talking about it makes no difference. It has to go to court.”
Asked at what point Biden becomes the legitimately recognized president-elect, McMaster said, “It’s when the Electoral College officially turns in their votes, which will be on Dec. 14.”
“Once that Electoral College votes, all questions are resolved,” McMaster said.
Since Nov. 3, Trump and his lawyers, led by former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, have made charges of massive widespread fraud that caused Trump to lose.
Nearly all of Trump’s legal actions have been thrown out of court for lack of evidence.
In one Pennsylvania case, decided Friday, U.S. Judge Stephanos Bibas of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals wrote “Calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here.”
But the lack of credible evidence has not stopped Trump from making claims that have rarely, if ever, been made by an American president who lost an election.
“The election was rigged,” Trump told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on a nationally televised Sunday morning talk show. “No way Joe Biden won. ... What is going on in this country is not to be believed!”
Asked about Trump’s sweeping claims of massive fraud, McMaster said, “He (Trump) is not the only one who said that. But I’ve got no factual basis one way or the other on any of that. But there are procedures for all kinds of recounts and analyses, that are prescribed by law, and it’s happened many times before. ... If anyone has those questions, they ought to be put in the proper channels and be answered.”
Asked specifically about Trump’s claims criticizing Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and that state’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, both Republicans, for running a bungled election that resulted in Biden winning Georgia and its 16 electoral votes, McMaster said, ”I’m not familiar with the details of that. I know that he’s criticized them.”
McMaster added, “Brian Kemp is a good friend, and so is Donald Trump. They have a difference of opinion, and they can work that out among themselves.”
Unofficial results of the Nov. 3 election give Biden 80.2 million votes compared with Trump’s 73.9 million. Biden unofficially has 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232. Several major media outlets have already called the race for Biden, who has begun the process of building his administration.
This story was originally published December 1, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "SC Gov. McMaster says he still supports Trump for now but will acknowledge Biden win."