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Republican Governor of Maryland, Larry Hogan, says he didn't vote for Democratic nominee Joe Biden, but that he praises his message to unite Americans and work across party lines.
In an interview that aired Friday, before Biden was projected as the winner in the presidential election Saturday, Hogan told Margaret Hoover on PBS Firing Line that he did not support either candidate for president in the 2020 election, but that he supported Biden's speech over the president's on Wednesday.
"I think it was a great message for Vice President Biden," Hogan said, referring to the speech Biden gave one day after the polls closed. "I thought it was right on target, and it's almost completely opposite of the kind of rantings we heard just a few hours earlier, early that morning from the president."
Gov @GovLarryHogan didn’t vote for @JoeBiden but applauds his promise to be an American not partisan president.
— Firing Line with Margaret Hoover (@FiringLineShow) November 6, 2020
“I hope that that tone will continue,” Hogan says. People want “us all come together and focus on solving the really serious problems that are facing our nation.” pic.twitter.com/nwLsOVnFYf
The moderate Republican governor went on to explain that he thought Biden's efforts to bring Americans together was crucial in this divisive time, and he hoped his tone would continue that way.
"It's a very divisive time, but I think most people in the country are really fed up and frustrated with the anger and the divisiveness on both sides of the aisle," he said.
Hogan is one of multiple Republican leaders who have criticized Trump for his unsubstantiated claims that the election was being stolen from him by Democrats, calling his rhetoric "an assault on our entire democratic process"
"To make those kind of off-base charges and attacks, and question the results and claim victory, and to raise issues that there was no evidence of was really inappropriate," he said.
Hogan said that he knows other Republican leaders who feel the same way.
"I know that more Republican elected officials feel that way, and I'm hoping that they'll continue to speak up," he said, adding that, "I think people are starting to feel a little more comfortable" speaking out against the president.
Among other GOP leaders who have publicly denounced president Trump's false claims of victory include former governor of New Jersey Chris Christie and former senator of Pennsylvania Rick Santorum.
Others have stated that the president needs to show substantial proof of voter fraud, rather than speaking about the issue without evidence to back his claims.
Ellen Weintraub of the Federal Election Commission told CNN Saturday that there is "no evidence of any kind of voter fraud. There is no evidence of illegal votes being cast."
In response, Trump loyalists, including members of his family and his attorney Rudy Guiliani, have tweeted various attacks against the GOP stating they "will never forget" the lack of support from Republican officials.
On Saturday, multiple news outlets including the Associated Press, CNN, and MSNBC announced that Joe Biden defeated president Donald Trump to become the next president of the United States.
Newsweek has reached out to the Trump campaign regarding his allegations about voter fraud in the 2020 election, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
