Trump loyalists mount last stand in Washington

Thousands of die-hard Donald Trump supporters rallied for a last stand Saturday in Washington, chanting “four more years” and blaming fraud for an election defeat that will force the president to vacate the White House after just one term.   

Trump himself made a drive-past in his armored motorcade, on his way to play golf, smiling through his limousine window to wild cheers and signs saying “Best prez ever” and “Trump 2020: Keep America Great.”   

The Republican incumbent is sticking to discredited claims of mass fraud and claiming he defeated President-elect Joe Biden in the November 3 vote, marking another unprecedented challenge to US democratic norms as his time in office runs down.   

Later Saturday, he took to Twitter with a series of tweets and retweets that included claims of voting machines potentially being hacked and complaints about news networks’ coverage of the rally. 

 
Twitter slapped labels on at least eight of the posts as containing “disputed” information.   
At least 10,000 people -- few wearing masks -- massed on the city’s Freedom Plaza before marching to the Supreme Court in a raucous atmosphere reminiscent of a Trump campaign rally. 

At least 20 people were arrested during the day, reports said, including four for firearm violations and one for assault on a police officer. Trump seemed to be following the evening’s events, taking to Twitter to accuse the city’s mayor of “not doing her job” and calling on the police to “get going - do your job and don’t hold back.”  
WASHINGTON
 AFP Nov15, 2020