US Election 2020: Republicans hit back at 'dangerous' Donald Trump comments trashing election fairness
Despite many of the president's allies standing behind him, some within the GOP think he has gone too far.
Saturday 7 November 2020 00:07, UK
Donald Trump is facing urgent pleas from some senior Republicans to stop undermining faith in the American electoral system.
The US president has made wild accusations that the race for the White House is rigged and biased against him - without concrete evidence.
Many in his own party and family have stood by him, but some have spoken out to urge him to concede peacefully if he does end up losing to Joe Biden, warning the consequences otherwise will be dire.
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Mitt Romney, who ran for the Republicans against Barack Obama eight years ago, said Mr Trump was "within his rights to request recounts, to call for investigation of alleged voting irregularities where evidence exists, and to exhaust legal remedies".
But he added: "He is wrong to say that the election was rigged, corrupt and stolen.
"Doing so damages the cause of freedom here and around the world, weakens the institutions that lie at the foundation of the republic, and recklessly inflames destructive and dangerous passions.
"Counting every vote is at the heart of democracy. That process is often long and, for those running, frustrating.
"The votes will be counted. If there are irregularities alleged, they will be investigated and ultimately resolved in the court."
Pat Toomey, a Republican senator in Pennsylvania, revealed it was "very hard to watch" the president's White House speech in which he savaged the integrity of the election system.
"The president's allegations of large-scale fraud and theft of the election are just not substantiated," he said.
"I'm not aware of any significant wrongdoing here."
Larry Hogan, Maryland's Republican governor, also said: "There is no defence for the president's comments tonight undermining our democratic process.
"America is counting the votes, and we must respect the results as we always have before. No election or person is more important than our democracy."
And Will Hurd, a Republican member of Congress representing part of Texas, said: "A sitting president undermining our political process and questioning the legality of the voices of countless Americans without evidence is not only dangerous and wrong.
"It undermines the very foundation this nation was built upon. Every American should have his or her vote counted."