DEMS/ELECTION/HOLIDAY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump on Tuesday [11-20-18] used the annual presidential turkey pardoning to offer a message of unity heading into the holiday season — but first, he couldn’t resist taking a few digs at Democrats who contested heated midterm races. Trump announced that Peas beat out Carrots in an online White House poll to decide which bird would receive the pardon, but joked the process was marred by controversy…Trump’s quip appeared directed at the elections in Georgia and Florida where Democratic candidates only conceded over the weekend after challenging the initial vote tallies. Trump himself raged against the slow tabulation of votes in Florida’s Senate and gubernatorial races as well as Georgia’s gubernatorial race, where the GOP candidates Trump backed ultimately prevailed. On Monday [11-19-18], Georgia’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams said that she did not consider the state’s election to be free or fair, accusing Republican Gov.-elect Brian Kemp of seeking to suppress minority votes in his role overseeing the state’s elections. A few days earlier, she said that while she admitted Kemp would be the next governor, she wouldn’t call her acknowledgment a concession.”
–Caitlin Oprysko, “Trump jokes that turkey pardon was marred by unfair election claims,” Politico, November 20, 2018 2:30 pm