Icon: enlarge
Republican Senator Mitt Romney in Washington, DC in October
Photo:
J. Scott Applewhite / AP
For Republicans, Joe Biden's victory in the US presidential election is a debacle.
Many of them had almost unconditionally stood behind President Donald Trump in the past few years and endured one scandal after the other.
It seems correspondingly difficult for many to accept Trump's defeat - but the first Republicans have already congratulated Biden.
Republican Senator Mitt Romney wrote on Twitter that he and his wife Ann congratulated "President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris."
"We got to know both of them as people with goodwill and admirable characters," it said.
They both prayed "that God would protect them in the days and years to come".
Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential candidate, became the party's first MP to recognize Biden's election victory.
In the past, he had been critical of Donald Trump more often.
Earlier this year, Romney was the only Republican in the Senate to vote for Trump's impeachment.
He also refused to vote in the presidential election.
The conservative politician Jeb Bush, brother of former President George W. Bush, also congratulated Biden.
"Now it is time to heal the wounds," wrote Jeb Bush on Twitter.
"Many are counting on you to show the way."
In 2016, Jeb Bush himself had ambitions to run for the Republicans in the presidential race, but was inferior to the political lateral entrant Trump at the time when the candidate was nominated.
Maryland Republican Governor Larry Hogan also congratulated Biden on the win.
"Everyone should wish our president the best of luck, because our country must be successful. There are great challenges ahead of us as a country. We have to stand together as Americans now more than ever," wrote Hogan on Twitter.
Similarly, Republican Congressman Will Hurd said: "America has spoken and we must respect this decision. We are united more than we share; we can find common ground. I hope the President-elect can embody that. I wish him the best of luck and I wish the president successful last weeks, "wrote Hurd, referring to Biden and Trump.
The president who is still in office, however, refuses to recognize Biden's election victory and is using all legal means against the election result.
The president claims there was widespread electoral fraud, but neither he nor anyone else has provided evidence.
However, he is still receiving the support of some party friends for his strategy.
Senator Josh Hawley wrote on Twitter following the announcement of the election winner by the major TV networks: "The media don't decide who is president. The people do."
One will know who the winner is when all legal votes have been counted, all recounts completed and all fraud allegations dealt with, the Republican wrote.
The decision of the TV stations and other media to declare Biden the winner is based on the assessment that Trump has no chance of catching up with his challenger as determined by the electoral authorities.
"The election is not over until all legal votes are counted and confirmed," wrote Republican Congressman Steve Scalise on Twitter.
There are "serious legal challenges" that have to be seen.
"The American people deserve a fair and transparent process."
Representative Jodey Arrington also told the New York Times that it was "unwise to accept any result" before recounts are complete and the results are upheld by the courts.
The decisive factor is likely to be how leading Republicans behave in the coming days - such as the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, or the influential Senator Lindsey Graham.
A McConnell spokesman on Saturday only referred to a statement by the Republican on Friday in which he had demanded that all "legal votes" be counted.
It is up to the courts to apply the laws and end disputes.
Graham, who also heads the Senate Judiciary Committee, said media reports said he would investigate "any credible allegation" of irregularities or misconduct related to the election.
The Senator reported on an alleged case in Erie, Pennsylvania, in which a Post officer backdated ballot papers to make them count.
An employee of the post had given a corresponding affidavit, said Graham.
He did not provide any evidence for the process.
Instead, he announced that he would not allow allegations of election fraud to be "swept under the carpet".
He also wanted to call on the Justice Department to investigate the allegations.
Icon: The mirror
mes / AFP / Reuters