Trump threatens Republican senator Tom Cotton for not backing his election challenge

Donald Trump on Monday threatened Senator Tom Cotton for not backing the plan by some Republicans to oppose the counting of certified electoral votes in the US Congress on 6 January.

“How can you certify an election when the numbers being certified are verifiably wrong. You will see the real numbers tonight during my speech, but especially on January 6th. [Senator Tom Cotton] Republicans have pluses and minuses, but one thing is sure, they never forget!” tweeted Mr Trump on Monday.

Several Republicans are planning to object to the election results certified by states during the joint session of the US Congress on 6 January which will be presided by vice president Mike Pence.

However, several Republicans are not in favour of objecting to the results already certified by the states. The president’s barely veiled warning to Mr Cotton came after the Senator from Arkansas said he won’t object.

Mr Cotton, in a statement, said that elections are entrusted to the states and “not Congress."

“And they entrusted the adjudication of election disputes to the courts - not Congress … Congress’s power is limited to counting electoral votes submitted by the states,” said Mr Cotton, who has been an ardent supporter of Donald Trump.

He announced that he won’t oppose the counting of certified electoral college votes on 6 January and noted that if “Congress purported to overturn the results of the electoral college, it would not only exceed that power, but also establish unwise precedents.”  

“First, Congress would take away the power to choose the president from the people, which would essentially end presidential elections and place that power in the hands of whichever party controls Congress. Second, Congress would imperil the electoral college, which gives small states like Arkansas a voice in presidential elections.”  

However, in a bid to offer an olive branch for refusing to play along with Mr Trump’s unsubstantiated election fraud claims, Mr Cotton said he is “grateful for what the president accomplished over the past four years, which is why I campaigned vigorously for his re-election.”  

Mr Cotton said he shares the concerns about irregularities in the presidential election and the disappointment with the election results and thus supports “a commission to study the last election and propose reforms to protect the integrity of our elections.”  

He is not alone as several other Republicans have also announced that they won’t support the plan to object. On 3 January, seven Republicans came out with a joint statement cautioning against the plan and stating that “we must respect the states' authority here.”

The vice president himself hasn’t openly supported the plan to objecting to election results certified by states. On Monday, Mr Trump, during a rally in Georgia for the senate run-off said he is hoping Mr Pence will come through in their plan to reject Mr Biden’s wide electoral college victory.