Axios's Courtenay Brown and Margaret Talev hosted a conversation unpacking Election 2020, featuring Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci and The Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt. Discussing the immediate results of the election and impending results from key swing states, Axios's Niala Boodhoo and Mike Allen opened the event.
Scaramucci discussed his projections on the impact of a Biden win, from economic policies to President-elect Biden's ability to work across the political aisle.
- On his view of Trump's economic policies: "[It's] a hijacked, deformed brand of Republicanism...massive deficit spending and sometimes very reckless behavior when it relates to public health and safety."
Steve Schmidt assessed the impact of the Lincoln Project on the 2020 election, his observations on geopolitical trends, and discussed how the Lincoln Project plans to move forward into 2021.
- On the role of the Lincoln Project during the election: "We were effective in accomplishing what we wanted to do: defining the race around Trump. We've always thought that the race was about one thing...it wasn't about issues. It wasn't about policy."
- How Trump's ideology fits into global trends: "I believe it's a statist authoritarian ideology with fascistic markers...All over the world, we see democratic recession. It is not a mistake that Nigel Farage is on a stage with Trump in Arizona."
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse highlighted the integrity of the voting process in light of President Trump's claims that President-elect Biden was working to steal the election.
- On the legitimacy of the election: "It also looks like the vote the count has been done in a pretty legitimate way…there have been lots of allegations of fraud, but it's all been just talk and there's been no evidence to support any of it."
- On his Senate colleagues' view: "I've got a lot of colleagues who are going to find the end of Donald Trump a real relief. And by colleagues, I mean Republican colleagues."
Thank you Bank of America for sponsoring this event.