Sen. Coons: Republicans Privately Acknowledging Biden Win

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: So, listen, are you just heard me talk about the secretary of state going off to these countries. Is it going to make for some awkward conversation? What in your heart of hearts do you really expect him to say to these leaders who’ve all congratulated the president-elect?

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): Well, I’m not sure what the secretary of state is going to do. But I hope what he says and what he does will reinforce our commitment to democracy and to peaceful transitions. This is an awkward and difficult moment for the United States on the world stage, because virtually everyone here in Congress has accepted that president-elect Biden and vice president-elect Harris have won the election, but President Trump is refusing to accept it and is pressuring Republicans, at least here in the Senate, to also continue to feed this fantasy that there might be some legitimate legal pathway to challenging or overturning this election.

AMANPOUR: Senator, you just said almost everybody accepts it. How do you know that? Obviously, Democrats, but we have heard precious little in public and only from a handful of Republicans. What are they telling you?

COONS: Privately, in a dozen conversations over the last three days, they have called to congratulate me, to congratulate the president-elect, and to convey their concern about how difficult this moment is and how it’s putting the transition at risk and, frankly, our security at risk. A few of them have started speaking out, but most have not. And that’s a reminder of just what a powerful hold President Trump has on the Republican Party and its base.

AMANPOUR: A lot of people are beginning to get a little bit tired of that. Yes, he got 71 million votes, but, as I have said, the majority of Americans believe in the result. There haven’t been people out in the streets protesting. At what point does president-elect Biden or you yourself ask these Republicans to come out and do the right thing? And what are they afraid of?

COONS: Christiane, I am actively asking them to do the right thing and thanking those that have modestly come out and said this transition needs to move forward. And what they’re afraid of, frankly, is their own voters, is the folks who elect them and support them, and that President Trump may well attack them directly, as he has virtually any Republican who steps outside of the sort of accepted narrative of Trump world. This is going to be a more challenging transition than it should be. It’s starting later than it should. And it’s beginning to impact the ability of the transition to connect with agencies. The U.S. federal government is an enormous undertaking. And there are landing teams prepared to go into each one of the major federal agencies and begin the challenging process of transition. The longer that’s put off, the less certain and smooth the transition will be.