Republican Senator Pauses Awkwardly When Fox News Reporter Asks if Democratic Colleagues Were Elected Legitimately

Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) dabbled in some newfangled election denialism being pushed by President Donald Trump on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Trump will give a primetime address in which he is expected to repeat his bogus claims about election fraud in the 2020 election, which he insists was rigged against him. The president is expected to allege that foreign interference clinched the election for Joe Biden.

To avoid angering Trump, some Republican lawmakers have claimed outright that the election was stolen, while others have asked unfounded questions meant to cast doubt on the contest. But in Thursday’s speech, the president is also expected to allege that Democratic Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock of Georgia were elected in rigged elections. The two senators won runoff contests on Jan. 5, 2021, thus giving control of the Senate to the Democrats. Warnock, who was elected in 2021 to finish the term of the resigned Sen. Johnny Isakson (R), subsequently won reelection in 2022. Ossoff is up for reelection in November.

On Wednesday, Fox News Chief Congressional Correspondent Chad Pergram asked Lummis if she believes Ossoff and Warnock were elected legitimately.

“In your mind, are Senators Ossoff and Warnock duly chosen and sworn?” Pergram asked.

The senator paused for several seconds.

“I don’t know,” she replied.

Lummis is retiring from the Senate in January after declining to run for reelection this year.

Earlier on Wednesday during a Senate confirmation hearing, Ossoff asked Jay Clayton, Trump’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence, “Who won the 2020 election?”

Clayton, who is currently the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, refused to say Biden won or that Trump lost.

Watch above via Fox News.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!