Trump was not only stirring chaos on social media and calling his supporters to the streets. On January 2, the president called Raffensperger to repeatedly coerce Georgia’s secretary of state to “recalculate” the statewide vote tally to put him on top. It was an egregious abuse of power, legal scholars said, and possibly a criminal act.
“All I want to do is this,” Trump told Raffensperger. “I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state.”
Trump repeated his request: “So what are we going to do here, folks? I only need 11,000 votes. Fellas, I need 11,000 votes. Give me a break. You know, we have that in spades already.”
On the call, which was arranged by Meadows, Trump was rambling and at times nonsensical. He alternately berated and flattered Raffensperger, who along with his office’s general counsel, Ryan Germany, tried to explain to the president that his assertions were based on debunked conspiracy theories and that Biden’s 11,779-vote victory in Georgia was fair and accurate.
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