As the nightmare scenario many have been warning about for months came true early Wednesday with President Donald Trump’s false declaration of victory, advocacy organizations behind the “Protect the Results” coalition reaffirmed their plans to mobilize across the United States as the nation teeters on the edge of a constitutional crisis.
More than 500 demonstrations are set to take place Wednesday afternoon as the vote count continues, with a trio of key battlegrounds—Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania—at the centre of the nation’s attention.
In a speech from the White House early Wednesday with millions of votes left to count, President Donald Trump did what the coalition of more than 130 advocacy groups, labour unions, and environmental organizations has long feared he would: Falsely declared outright victory, baselessly cried voter fraud in key states that may not ultimately turn out in his favour if all ballots are counted, and threatened to turn to the U.S. Supreme Court to help him stop the vote count.
“We expected Trump and Republicans to try every trick in the book to cling to power,” advocacy group Indivisible, one of the original founders of the “Protect the Results” coalition, tweeted early Wednesday. “That’s why we’re ready to mobilize. Join the movement to stop a constitutional crisis.”
“We’re gonna have to do this,” said Alexandria Villaseñor, founder of youth-led advocacy group Earth Uprising. “We need the world to help us.”
Initially published in commondreams.org.
