Donald Trump was recorded on a phone call pressuring two Michigan county board of canvassers to not certify the results of the 2020 presidential election for Joe Biden, according to Detroit News.
In the Nov. 17, 2020 phone call to Monica Palmer and William Hartmann, two Republican members of the four person Wayne County Board of Canvassers, Trump was heard telling the pair that they would look “terrible” if they certified the results.
“We’ve got to fight for our country,” Trump reportedly said. “We can’t let these people take our country away from us.”
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel was also on the call and could be heard telling Palmer and Hartmann to not sign the certification and promising to get them attorneys if they decided not to sign.
“If you can go home tonight, do not sign it…..We will get you attorneys,” McDaniel promised.
“We’ll take care of that,” Trump added.
Both Palmer and Hartmann left the canvassers meeting without signing the official statement of votes from the county and tried unsuccessfully to rescind their votes in favor of certification the next day.
Palmer did not dispute a summary of the call when contacted by Detroit News, neither did McDaniel nor Trump. Hartmann died in 2021
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told the outlet in a statement that Trump’s actions “were taken in furtherance of his duty as president of the United States to faithfully take care of the laws and ensure election integrity, including investigating the rigged and stolen 2020 presidential election.”
“President Trump and the American people have the constitutional right to free and fair elections,” Cheung said.
