Thomas Richard Carper

“ President Lincoln observed at the end of the Gettysburg Address that ours is a “government of the people, by the people, and for the people.” Even in the midst of a Civil War, President Lincoln put his unwavering faith in “the people” to chart our Nation’s course. We would be wise to remember Lincoln’s words in this moment. We are not a government of Trump, by Trump, and for Trump. We are a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. And the people have spoken. Our only job today is to listen to them. ”

“ Unfortunately, some of our colleagues today ask us to do the same thing Donald Trump asked of the secretary of state of Georgia: to overturn the results of the 2020 election without specific allegations and without proof. Our colleagues are asking us not to abide by the will of the people but to bend to the will of one man, Donald Trump. ”

“ But the American people spoke clearly, and they spoke decisively: 81.2 million voters voted for Joe Biden—81.2; 74.2 million voted for Donald Trump; 51.3 percent of the vote went for Joe Biden; 46.8 percent of the vote was for Donald Trump; 306 electoral college votes for Joe Biden; 232 electoral college votes for Donald Trump. Four years earlier, Donald Trump referred to that kind of outcome as a “landslide” for him, and he lost the popular vote by 3 million votes.
But accepting the outcome of the election can be difficult when our political party doesn’t win. We have all felt that before. ”