President-elect Joseph R. Biden said Thursday Republican leadership is ready to “run and cooperate” with Democrats once President Trump leaves the White House.
Mr. Biden stopped by “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” to talk about the coronavirus pandemic, the election and Mr. Trump when the Democrat made the prediction.
“I think I can work with the Republican leadership in the House and the Senate,” he said. “I think we can get things done. And I think once this president is no longer in office, I think you’re gonna see his impact on the body politic fade and a lot of these Republicans gonna feel they have much more room to run and cooperate.”
Mr. Biden said he plans to be a truly unifying figure and has no problems with Republicans who have not referred to him as president-elect.
“Do you take it personally at all, the Republicans who haven’t acknowledged your win?” Mr. Colbert asked.
“No. Look, they’re in a tough spot,” Mr. Biden told the CBS host. “I know everybody says, well, they should just step up. How can I say this? A number of them sent messages to me four weeks ago: ’Give me time, Joe. Give me some time.’ That’s fine by me. … We won Georgia three times. No, but all kidding aside, look, it’s a tough spot.”
Mr. Trump and his legal team insist that widespread election fraud turned an apparent victory near midnight on Election Day into an illusory defeat the next morning.
The president has vowed to exhaust all legal options to prove that he is the rightful victor of the 2020 election.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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