Utah Gov.-elect Spencer Cox threw cold water on President Donald Trump’s claim that the 2020 election was somehow illegitimate.
“There’s no evidence of mass voter fraud,” said Cox during an appearance on CNN Wednesday evening.
Trump has spent a good deal of time since Election Day raging about a “rigged election” on Twitter, and refusing to acknowledge his loss to President-elect Joe Biden. There has been no evidence of widespread election fraud, and the Trump campaign’s efforts to challenge the results in court have been unsuccessful so far.
The Trump administration is also blocking the start of the transition process, preventing Biden from receiving intelligence briefings and delaying other traditional steps to prepare for a new president in January. Cox supported that start of that transition process on CNN.
“That won’t change the election," he said. “It just makes sure that whoever the next president is, they are prepared on day one to govern, and that’s good for all of us.”
“I don’t know why this should be controversial, the idea of helping both candidates get access to this material they need. It won’t change the vote count at all,” he added.
Cox said he has no problem with the Trump campaign challenging the results in court, noting "those machinations happen every election. But he is worried about the constant drumbeat of misinformation on social media that is fueling the opposition to acknowledging Biden’s win.
“Social media and our willingness to believe anything is concerning,” Cox said. “What we shouldn’t be doing is accepting as fact baseless allegations. Let’s review the evidence and let judges make those decisions. But we can’t accept that as the gospel until there is some sort of factual basis.”
Cox, along with Sen. Mitt Romney, is one of the handful of top Utah Republicans to congratulate Biden for winning the election. Few other Republicans have followed suit, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“We in Utah really do believe in civility and the importance of trying to work together," said Cox, who will become governor in early January. “I’m very proud to be on that list of Republicans.”
