Only a few days left to election day and Donald Trump is giving his all in the race for the White House. Melania has been showing up to support him more than usual, while he continues to make statements that raise eyebrows.
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A speech in New York last Sunday 27 October contained a passage that caused both the media and political opponents to sit up and take notice.
Donald Trump in New York
Donald Trump's appearance in Madison Square Garden caused an outcry of indignation for several reasons. Not just the content of his speech, but also some of the other speakers caused massive backlash. In addition to racist remarks, Kamala Harris was called an 'anti-Christ', influencer Grant Cardone said, according to NBC News, that the election result 'has to be a landslide', adding almost succinctly:
We have to slaughter these other people.
While these statements caused a lot of uproar, especially in the opposing political camp, an interesting and at the same time slightly worrying statement by Donald Trump went almost unnoticed. According to The Guardian, when the businessman was talking about Mike Johnson, the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, he said:
We gotta get the congressmen elected and we gotta get the senators elected. We can take the Senate pretty easily, and I think with our little secret we are gonna do really well with the House. Our little secret is having a big impact. He and I have a little secret – we will tell you what it is when the race is over.
But what could be behind Donald Trump's statement?
The important role of the Senate and the House of Representatives
First of all, it is important to understand why both the Senate and the House of Representatives are important to Trump - or any other politician. The US Parliament (Congress) is divided into two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The House of Representatives, which is seen as representing the people and is re-elected every two years, 'votes on laws and acts as a check on the president, and the 435 representatives are elected by the citizens in their respective constituencies', according to SWR.
The Senate, on the other hand, consists of far fewer members and 'represents the interests of the federal states'. Those elected to office serve a six-year term. One of the most important tasks is to confirm certain presidential appointments (ex. judges).
On January 6 after the election, the Congress formally counts the Electoral College votes and confirms the election result. However, this is a formal recognition and not a selection process; Congress can, in very rare cases, challenge the result if, for example, there are irregularities in the election.
In connection with Donald Trump's statement, politician Dan Goldman explains what he might have meant. The Guardian quotes him as follows:
On January 6, the certification of the electoral college will happen again, and as we know from 2021, whoever is in control of the House of Congress will have a lot of say on what happens on January 6. I suspect Donald Trump’s little secret plan with Mike Johnson is a backup plan for when he loses and he tries to go to the House of Representatives to throw out the electoral college.
Meanwhile, Mike Johnson has reacted to the questions around Trump's revelation and said that it's 'nothing scandalous.'
He proceeded to explain that their secret is a 'get-out-the-vote' tactic—which is an effort to increase voter turnout:
The media, their heads are exploding. ‘What is the secret? It’s thing we have about — it’s a get-out-the-vote. It’s one of our tactics on get-out-the-vote.
This article has been translated from Oh!MyMag DE.
Read more:
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Sources used:
Guardian: Outcry over Trump's hint at 'little secret' with House Republicans
NBC News: Trump's Madison Square Garden rally overshadowed by his allies' crude and racist remarks
SWR: What is the difference between the Senate and the House of Representatives in the USA?
The Hill: Johnson says ‘little secret’ with Trump is get-out-the-vote effort, not ‘diabolical’
