Top Republicans call for patience on vote counting in split with Trump

Some high-profile Republicans have distanced themselves from US President Donald Trump’s attempts to falsely declare victory in the election and halt vote counting in Pennsylvania and other states.

Iran PressAmerica: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Trump ally who won re-election on Tuesday in Kentucky, told reporters that “claiming you’ve won the election is different from finishing the counting”.

Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican who spoke at a recent Trump campaign rally, said in a tweet that “taking days to count legally cast votes is NOT fraud”, Washington Post reported.

Republican Adam Kinzinger addressed Trump directly on Twitter: “Stop. Full stop,” he wrote on Wednesday in response to Trump’s claim that Democrats were trying to “steal” the election.

“The votes will be counted and you will either win or lose,” Mr. Kinzinger toldTrump. “And America will accept that. Patience is a virtue.”

The comments by the Republican lawmakers were rare, public rebukes of Trump, who has demanded — and generally received — loyalty from fellow Republicans throughout his four-year term.

Most take pains to avoid directly criticizing Trump, even when they find his conduct unhelpful or offensive to their values and goals.

Yet victory in the states still up for grabs is by no means guaranteed, with the latest tallies showing the outcome on a knife-edge amid the Trump campaign pursuing legal action to contest vote counts.

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