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Trump lashes out at leading GOP senator and dubs him ‘Mitch’s Boy’ as his relationship with party spirals

<p>President Donald Trump (left) departs on travel to West Point, New York from the South Lawn at the White House in Washington and Senator John Thune (Right) speaks during a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee hearing on the logistics of transporting a Covid-19 vaccine on 10 December 2020 in Washington, DC</p> ((Reuters (left) and Getty Images (right))(Reuters (left) and Getty Images (right)))

Donald Trump called South Dakota senator John Thune “Mitch’s boy”, after the senior Republican criticised attempts to overturn president-elect Joe Biden’s election victory.

In a tweet on Tuesday evening, President Trump said that Mr Thune is a “RINO” (Republican in name only) and claimed that he will be “primaried in 2022.”

“Republicans in the Senate so quickly forget. Right now they would be down 8 seats without my backing them in the last Election,” Mr Trump tweeted.

“RINO John Thune, ‘Mitch’s boy’, should just let it play out. South Dakota doesn’t like weakness. He will be primaried in 2022, political career over!!!” he added.

President Trump’s comments came just a day after Mr Thune, the number two Republican in the Senate, criticised efforts from House Republicans to challenge the Electoral College’s results that will confirm Mr Biden’s election victory.

Mr Thune’s comments echoed remarks made by several senior Republicans, including Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, who said last week that a challenge “isn’t in the best interest of everybody” as he urged party representatives to accept the results.

The senior Republicans publicly intervened after Alabama representative Mo Brooks announced that he will object to the electors chosen for six states Mr Biden won in 3 November’s election when Congress meets to confirm him as the next US president on 6 January.

Mr Thune told reporters on Monday that he does not know of any senators who have committed to joining the effort, which has gained backing from multiple House representatives.

“The thing they’ve got to remember is, it’s just not going anywhere. I mean, in the Senate it would go down like a shot dog,” he said on Monday, according to Bloomberg.

“And I just don’t think it makes a lot of sense to put everybody through this when you know what the ultimate outcome is going to be,” Mr Thune added.

Although Mr Biden was declared the winner of the presidential election last month, Mr Trump has repeatedly falsely claimed that there was widespread voter fraud and has still not conceded.

President Trump and his team have had more than 50 legal challenges dismissed over the last month, as he and his allies are still attempting to overturn 3 November’s election results. There is no evidence for the claims.

GOP members of Congress met privately with Mr Trump at the White House on Monday to discuss plans to object to the Electoral College results, according to The Hill.

Joining Mr Brooks at the meeting were Matt Gaetz of Florida, Georgia lawmakers Jody Hice and Representative-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Jim Jordan of Ohio, who all tweeted about it.

Bloomberg reported that Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Louie Gohmert of Texas and Andy Biggs of Arizona were also at the meeting.

Incoming Alabama senator Tommy Tuberville, who will be sworn in on 3 January, has suggested that he will join the multiple House representatives when they object next month.

In order to force a debate and vote on an objection, a representative from both the House and the Senate need to object in writing. Even then, the motion is unlikely to make it past the Democrat-controlled House.

Several high-profile Republicans and Trump allies, including Mr McConnell and Senate Rules Committee chairman Roy Blunt, have urged representatives to not object at the vote on 6 January, warning that it could harm the party politically.

Reiterating this claim on Monday night, high-profile Republican, Judiciary chairman Lindsey Graham, told reporters that he thinks any efforts would “probably do more harm than good”.

Last week, the US Electoral College confirmed Mr Biden as the winner of the presidential election, with 306 electoral votes to Mr Trump’s 232.

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