In an effort to stay in power, former President Donald Trump repeatedly claimed that his vice president Mike Pence had the authority to overturn the 2020 elections. A Democratic lawmaker mocked the claim, noting that by Trump’s logic, sitting vice president Kamala Harris has the authority to choose the 2024 election winner.
Speaking on CNN, Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren, who is also serving on the congressional committee investigating the January 6 insurrection, mocked the claim repeatedly made by Trump as of late. The former president claimed that Pence had the authority to overturn the 2020 election results but ultimately refused to do so.
Lofgren said that by Trump’s logic, if Pence had the authority to overturn the election, Harris would be able to pick the winner of the 2024 races. To note, the vice president does not have the unilateral authority to choose the next president regardless of who voters choose. If that were the case, only one political party would be controlling the White House.
“I guess the former president is saying that the vice president gets to choose the next president,” said Lofgren. “In which case, Kamala Harris will be presiding at the counting of the votes. I guess he’s saying she gets to choose who the next president is.”
“That’s clearly not what the Constitution provides for. He must be kidding,” Lofgren added.
In a statement Sunday, Trump said that it was unfortunate that Pence did not exercise his authority to overturn the 2020 election results.
In other related news, during a White House session with the National Governors’ Association Monday, Harris mentioned that the warm welcome that New Jersey’s then-governor Chris Christie gave to Barack Obama in 2012 was an example of model behavior despite the backlash Christie received from his fellow Republicans.
“It is historically, a very important relationship between any presidential administration regardless of party affiliation and the governors of the states that bring that type, that sense of assurity and stability to the people we represent as a country,” said Harris, citing three examples of bipartisan moments throughout administrations.
Harris cited the Child Insurance Program under the Clinton administration, the efforts of the state governors following the 9/11 terrorist attacks under the Bush administration, and the Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts under the Obama administration.