“Our system will resolve any recounts or litigation,” he said.
But he also took the opportunity to set Democrats on fire, saying they had no right to expect Mr. Trump to be quick to admit.
“At this time last week, small business owners in cities across America have boarded their windows if President Trump seemed to win and far-left mobs have decided to repeat their summer riots,” McConnell said. “Suffice it to say that some legal questions from the president do not exactly mean the end of the republic.”
Democrats were outraged. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, followed Mr. McConnell on the ground and said flatly, “Joe Biden won this election fair and this seat.” He called Trump’s claims “extremely dangerous, extremely toxic to our democracy” and warned Republican leaders not to give them oxygen.
“Republican leaders must clearly condemn the president’s rhetoric and work to ensure the peaceful transfer of power,” said Schumer.
A group of 30 former Republican lawmakers, including former Representatives Carlos Curbelo from Florida, Barbara Comstock from Virginia, Tom Coleman from Missouri, and Bob Inglis from South Carolina, joined in a letter asking Mr Trump to approve the election results and to accept.
“We believe President Trump’s statements alleging election fraud are efforts to undermine the legitimacy of the elections and are unacceptable,” the group wrote. “Every vote should be counted and the end result should be accepted by the participants, as public confidence in the outcome of our elections is a foundation of our democracy.”
Few elected Republicans have expressed such views or even offered traditional recognition of Mr Biden’s victory and urged the country to move forward. In her statement Monday, Ms. Collins publicly joined only a handful of House Republicans and only three other Senate Republicans – Mitt Romney from Utah, Lisa Murkowski from Alaska and Ben Sasse from Nebraska.
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