Gore: Americans still supporting ‘lost cause’ of Trump’s reelection should put country first

Former Vice President Al Gore on Sunday called for Americans who continue to rally behind President Donald Trump’s failed reelection bid to prioritize their country.

“I would encourage those who are still supporting the lost cause of President Trump’s reelection to put the country first,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”

“It’s hard to escape the interpretation that they are frightened, that President Trump will tweet them into political oblivion if they don’t do exactly what he says,” he said. “But, you know, there are things that are more important than bowing to the fear of a demagogue. One of those things that is more important is the United States of America and our Constitution and the continuation of the American experiment.”

Gore’s comments come just days after the Supreme Court denied a Texas lawsuit supported by Trump, more than a dozen Republican-led states and 126 House Republicans that sought to invalidate millions of votes in battleground states he lost to President-elect Joe Biden. The Electoral College will meet Monday to formally cast their ballots for president and vice president — the next step in the process of finalizing Biden’s victory.

Gore, who conceded the 2000 election to George W. Bush 20 years ago on Sunday, told Tapper the Texas lawsuit “got the result that it deserved” and that when electors cast votes for Biden it will be “a point at which some of those who have hung on will give up the ghost.”

A number of Republicans, including Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander, are also calling for Trump to “put the country first” — especially after electors vote.

“The states have counted, certified their results. The courts have resolved the disputes. It looks very much like the electors will vote for Joe Biden,” Alexander said during an interview on NBC’s “Meet The Press.” “And when they do, I hope that he puts the country first, I mean the President, that he takes pride in his considerable accomplishments, congratulates the President-elect and helps him get off to a good start, especially in the middle of this pandemic. We need to not lose one day in the transition in getting the vaccine out to everybody who needs it.”

Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican, acknowledged to Tapper in a separate interview Sunday that Biden is “President-elect” and said the GOP needs to come together.

“If we are a nation of laws and this is the Constitution and this is the law and this is how it breaks out and the courts have ruled, then President Biden is going to be our next President,” Cassidy said. “As Abraham Lincoln said, a house divided by itself cannot stand. Our nation, our conservative movement, our Republican Party can’t stand if we are divided against ourselves. So at some point we have to come together for all of those reasons.”

Gore on Sunday also praised Biden’s goals for addressing the climate crisis, telling Tapper he believes Biden can “really rally the world to make more rapid progress” in solving it.

The former vice president, who has criticized Trump’s decision to withdraw from the landmark Paris agreement that had been adopted by the US and 196 countries, cautioned Americans to “learn to work together, lest we perish together” in a New York Times op-ed published Saturday.