'It's vindication': Georgia secretary of state on Fox, Dominion settlement

Let's bring George's Republican Secretary of State, Brad Raffensberger, into the conversation. Mr. Secretary, it's good to have you back on the show with us. His reaction to the nearly $788 million judgment against Fox News' four Dominion voting systems. You have taken care of all of these. conspiracy theories, you have to give yourself credit, you have stood up to Donald Trump and many others who wanted you to change the votes in your

state

, what do you think about this ruling yesterday? It is a

vindication

, we have been saying this for more than two and a half years. We had honest and fair elections in Georgia, we audited the machines, we did a hand recount of 100, we got pretty much the same answers, so yesterday was Vindication and I know it's been a very close battle for Dominion, but also for the people of Georgia, really for our nation, all this information is a lie, whatever you want to call it, it really just destroyed our country.

We have been having this confrontation unnecessarily because at the end of the day in Georgia we had an honest and fair election and yesterday we were vindicated. message, do you think this sends you, Mr. Secretary, two people who continue to push conspiracy theories? Donald Trump's boss, among them, is another blow. We have received all the Court decisions that prove those theories were wrong. We have seen these people again and again. Who even in the midterm elections that continue to push conspiracy theories voted against or impeached the message? How big is this message? Do you think it reaches the ears of the people who need to hear it?

I think it should have gotten to People's ears should have found out about this after I got my land victory, my re-election victory because after all of this came to light, I've been traveling around the

state

of Georgia. I traveled for two years. I really explained to people exactly what happened. It didn't happen, so they had the information and in Georgia we figured it out and we moved forward and I'm very grateful for that and I hope the rest of the country starts to move forward and realizes that we have to build. your campaign is based on what your principles are, not on tearing people down, not on making things up, based on the facts, on knowing what you want to do for people with a positive aspirational vision, so, Mr.

Secretary, this is Eddie, so how do we begin to rebuild the trust eroded by these conspiracy theories by those who believe that somehow our Democratic process and our electoral systems have been compromised by this hyper-partisanship, so we get the deal with Dominion, but there is still the question of whether or not the election is. It's fair to say whether or not politicians are actually doing the work on behalf of the people, so how do we begin to rebuild that trust? I know you've been traveling through Georgia, but people still have questions about the election system. I think the voters will eventually hold office. politicians are accountable at the ballot box and accountability is a good thing, that's really where things get tough and the rubber meets the road, which is why we've had great success in Georgia, we've overcome the need for build a broad-based coalition on that basis. on the facts based on the truth because integrity and character matter and that's what really comes to the fore, you know, the average American right now is worried about their pocketbook problems, but they are dedicated to their issues, they are honest, good, hard-working people, and that's what they expect from their elected leaders and that's what will be rewarded and sometimes we don't have the best options and that's what's disappointing.

I look forward to Republicans starting to put forward people of character at every level so that we can continue to, you know, grow our party and rebuild it, and we have great people across the country who have been fighting this battle, but obviously in Georgia. you know I was at the tip of the spear only because I was The chief electoral officer and I had a great team that supported me and we stood firm, we still affirmed the truth and yesterday the truth was vindicated. Mr. Raffensberger, speaking of character and choices and his experience of being on the tip of the spear, it is possible. that Donald Trump is the Republican Party candidate in 2024 after everything Georgia has been through, would he support him again if he is the Republican Party candidate?

I think I've been pretty clear: what I'm looking for is someone who has integrity of character and can engage in civil discourse and then a touch of kindness, as Ronald Reagan said, when all of that comes together, that's how trust is built. , that's how you build trust and that's how you build identified and diversified teams, and that's how I'm looking. and that's it, I'll let you know when I find that person, if it's Donald Trump, it's a no, so I think I've been pretty clear about where I stand, yeah, okay, okay, Mr. Secretary, if you have, has.

With your support or not, there is a real possibility that Donald Trump will be the nominee in 2024 and he will bring with him this series of conspiracy theories, this anger, this potential threat of violence, how is his state doing, which will be one of main? Battleground states once again in an upcoming election, how does the state prepare for that coming attack? I think people need to take a look at Georgia's history because Stacey Abrams lost twice and both times she was never backed by the facts. President Trump, you know, lost and came up short in 2020. So I think people are going to lean toward looking for character, they're going to see a positive vision, people can actually accomplish something, you know, this isn't just about snippets of sound. it's about doing the hard work to make America better and it really does make America better, we have better policies and they're going to work together and sometimes they have to work across the aisle, you know this is a 50 plus one country and you don't know which direction those 50 plus one are going to go, so you have to work with people, you have to build broad-based coalitions, that's what I've done in Georgia, can I ask you?

We quickly replay that phone call, that extraordinary phone call. Some would say it's a perfect phone call if you're a prosecutor in the state of Georgia between you and Donald Trump. It is truly the most extraordinary pitch-perfect recording we have ever heard. uh, I'm curious why the district attorney is considering filing charges against the former president. I know that's not your job and you shouldn't jump to any conclusions about it. I wonder when you recorded that phone call if you thought based on Georgia Law, the three or four Georgia laws that the president could have violated, that what he was saying was an attempt to ruin the election and violate some basic laws in Georgia Well, I think the benefit of having that recording on the Internet is for anyone. in America they can hear it and anyone in America can come to their own conclusion and I have never doubted the common sense and good values ​​of the American people still come to the right conclusion if they listen to it, yeah what was your conclusion? we stood firm on the law that's what I told President Trump that there were not 5,000 dead we had found two I understand that he had paid for a report and that report said that there are about 25 well 25 and two is much closer In addition to its number five thousand, we found two more since then, so there's a total of four dead people who voted, we didn't have any underage votes, you know, the facts were that President Trump came up short, the reason why that came up short is 24,000.

Georgians simply skipped the presidential race, they didn't vote for any of the candidates and yet they voted against it in different races and that's why President Trump came up short, our congressman Republican got about 33,000 more votes than President Trump didn't get collectively and then our state representatives and our state senators got five or six percent higher scores than President Trump, so that's why the man came up short. This is what it is. People need to stop complaining and start moving on. Maybe they need to hire better political consultants, whatever that may be. At the end of the day, when you lose a football game, a basketball game, whatever it is, you can always come back next season and then hang in there and realize that's why you lost and you just have to go and try hard. a little more. but this political game isn't really a game, it is, it's about your character and when times get tough, your character book is revealed and revealed every time in the last two years, the Secretary of State of Georgia, Brad Raffensberger, thank you very much, sir, for being here.

This morning, Mr. Secretary, thank you very much. I appreciate it very much.