(JTA) — In a statement Thursday condemning the rioting at the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, the Republican Jewish Coalition finally recognized Joe Biden as president-elect 13 days before his inauguration.
“The Republican Jewish Coalition congratulates Joe Biden on his election as President of the United States,” the statement said. “After the abhorrent mob attack yesterday on our Capitol, our elected officials went back to work, fulfilled their duty under our Constitution, and certified the results of the 2020 election. Now is the time for the same peaceful transition of power that the US has carried out for over 220 years. It is also time for healing and unity in our country, because we face many serious and significant challenges.”
Instigated by President Donald Trump, the mob that attacked the Capitol was trying to keep lawmakers from formalizing the electoral vote that made Biden president. The statement did not name Trump and was unusual for a partisan group in that it talked about cooperating with a president from the opposing party.
“We hope to work with the incoming Biden administration on issues such as the US-Israel relationship and preventing a nuclear Iran,” it said. “In these troubled times, we must come together so that this remarkable country will continue to thrive, in peace and security.”
Trump’s refusal to accept the election’s outcome led to a number of GOP and GOP-adjacent individuals and entities to break with the longstanding tradition of using “president-elect” as soon as major media outlets call the race. Among them were the RJC and the Zionist Organization of America.
The ZOA, in a series of posts excoriating Biden’s appointments and nominations as unqualified, has taken recently to calling him “projected President-elect Joe Biden.”
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