GOP Rep. John Curtis Downplays Talk Of Donald Trump Declaring Martial Law To Overturn Election Results
Multiple reports on Saturday alleged that President Donald Trump has held discussions about declaring martial law to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Rumors claimed the plan was suggested first by his former national security adviser Michael Flynn, but other officials in the administration reportedly dismissed it.
Republican Rep. John Curtis of Utah appeared on CNN to weigh in on the issue. Per Raw Story, Curtis downplayed the allegations while speaking with host Bianna Golodryga, suggesting that they should not be taken at face value and that the media is overreacting.
“Well, let me just tell you, I’ve been in Congress for three years and for three years I keep hearing all these worst-case scenarios,” Curtis told Golodryga, arguing that politicians should focus on more important issues because all Trump apparently did was talk about declaring martial law.
“We have to remember, it was a conversation — not a revolution. There are far more important things in front of us and I think we need to move on and tackle them.”
“But that’s all you have to say to that?” Golodryga countered, suggesting that a president deploying the military to overturn the results of an election is something that happens in third-world countries — not the United States — and that all such allegations need to be discussed.
“Listen, you’re talking about a conversation that reportedly took place. We don’t know anything about the details and you just can’t get me all riled up about that,” Curtis insisted.
Flynn has repeatedly suggested that Trump could impose martial law to get to the bottom of alleged irregularities in the 2020 presidential race and ensure that he serves another four years in the White House.
Other people close to Trump have urged him to seize voting machines, reportedly alarming some members of the administration, who anonymously told the press that they fear the commander-in-chief has started taking advice from purported conspiracy theorists like Flynn and lawyer Sidney Powell.
.@RepJohnCurtis: Trump was just talking about a military coup, he’s not actually doing it, what’s the big deal? pic.twitter.com/qpx2Krgl1X
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 19, 2020
As author Kurt Eichenwald pointed out on Twitter, Republican lawmakers have not yet condemned Trump’s reported willingness to use the power of the federal government to undo the results of the presidential race.
According to The Salt Lake Tribune, several days after the election, following Utah Sen. Mitt Romney’s lead, Curtis acknowledged Democrat Joe Biden as president-elect, breaking with most of his Republican colleagues.
In a statement released at the time, Curtis congratulated both Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, and thanked Trump for “an amazing list of accomplishments.”
