Trump reportedly told Kelly Loeffler he'd 'do a number on her' if she didn't back Electoral College challenge
President Trump was prepared to "do a number" on outgoing Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) last week on stage during the president's final pre-runoff rally in Georgia, a source familiar with the events told The Washington Free Beacon's Eliana Johnson, per Politico.
The implication is that Trump told Loeffler what he said about her on stage was contingent upon whether she backed the Electoral Colleges championed by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Josh (R-Mo.), among others.
Scoop in @playbookplus, guest-written today by @elianayjohnson:
Trump “told Kelly Loeffler before he landed in Georgia for a final rally on Monday that if she didn’t back the Electoral College challenges, he would ‘do a number on her,’ from the stage.”https://t.co/qdxrdmRB1N
— Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) January 10, 2021
Loeffler did plan to object, though it's unclear if the decision was directly related to Trump's alleged threat. Ultimately, the point was moot, since Loeffler lost to her Democratic challenger Raphael Warnock, and wound up voting to certify the President-elect Joe Biden's vote, afterwards. But the report still carries some significance for analysts, who think it's a microcosm of the larger issues that led to Loeffler's defeat.
In the end, it’s a symptom of the broader dynamic of Loeffler’s loss, one that was evident from the beginning of the year. She tried to transform herself into something she was not, alienating moderates while never being genuine enough to win over a skeptical Trump base.
— Jacob Rubashkin (@JacobRubashkin) January 10, 2021
Johnson's scoop also further suggests that Trump was willing to let the Republican Party lose control of the Senate for personal gain.