DEAR SLIM

Trump Tried to Call Raffensperger 18 Times Before Saturday’s Chat, Says Report

Trump finally made contact on Saturday after 18 unsuccessful attempts—and then went on to urge Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to overturn his election defeat.

President Donald Trump’s now-notorious call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was the 19th time the White House had tried to reach the state official since the election, NBC News reports. According to reporters Julia Jester and Geoff Bennett, Trump finally made contact on Saturday after 18 unsuccessful attempts—and then went on to urge Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to overturn Trump’s election defeat in the state. The secretary of state reportedly told his staff that he didn’t want their recording of the call to be released unless Trump went on to attack state officials or publicly lie about what had been discussed. However, before The Washington Post published the recording Sunday, Trump attacked Raffensperger in a tweet, writing that he was “unwilling, or unable, to answer” questions about his false claims of widespread voter fraud and that he “has no clue!”