The US Senate decisively rejected three resolutions Wednesday night that sought to block specific weapons sales to Israel, according to NBC News. The measures, spearheaded by Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, faced strong bipartisan opposition.

The resolutions, which targeted sales of tank rounds, mortar rounds, and bomb guidance kits for use in Gaza, were defeated by significant margins, with 78, 79, and 80 senators voting against the respective measures, NBC News reported.

Prior to the vote at 8 p.m., Sanders took to X to criticize Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stating he "has violated international & US law, violating human rights and blocking humanitarian aid."

In his Senate floor speech, Sanders emphasized that the resolutions "would not affect any of the systems Israel uses to defend itself from incoming attacks," focusing instead on offensive weapons.

This evening, I voted to reaffirm the United States' commitment to the people of Israel and to ensure they have the resources to defend themselves from Iran and their terrorist proxies like Hamas and Hezbollah.

I will always stand proudly to support our strongest ally.

— Senator Cortez Masto (@SenCortezMasto) November 21, 2024

"As I have said many, many times: Israel had the absolute right to respond to that horrific Hamas attack, as any other country would. I don't think anybody here in the United States Senate disagrees with that," Sanders said. "But Prime Minister Netanyahu's extremist government has not simply waged war against Hamas. It has waged an all-out war against the Palestinian people."

Several Democrats openly opposed the resolutions. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada declared on X that she "will always stand proudly to support our strongest ally." Her colleague, Senator Jacky Rosen, echoed this sentiment, stating that "Israel is our ally in the Middle East & we must do everything we can to help it defend itself."

While Israel is being attacked on all fronts, it should not be under attack in the halls of Congress.

Israel's enemies are our enemies.

Instead of blocking key weapons, we must provide Israel with the tools to demolish Iran-backed Hamas and send a clear message to Tehran.

— Joni Ernst (@SenJoniErnst) November 21, 2024

Republicans unanimously opposed the resolutions. Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa wrote on X, "While Israel is being attacked on all fronts, it should not be under attack in the halls of Congress." Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana added on the platform that "Limiting Israel's ability to defend itself helps its enemies."

Israel maintains that destroying the Hamas terror organization is essential to prevent attacks similar to the Oct. 7 massacre, where terrorists killed 1,2000 Israelis and kidnapped over 250. As of Nov. 21, 101 Israelis remain captive in Gaza, 36 of whom have been declared dead.

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The atmosphere at the West Palm Beach arena remained notably restrained on election night, despite the promising returns. The crowd's measured response – whether stemming from the lingering shadow of 2020 or the familiarity of a second Donald Trump victory – stood in stark contrast to the electric shock of 2016. The hundreds of supporters present displayed enthusiasm without surprise; they had, after all, been the first to believe in Trump's ability to achieve the improbable.

Video: Donald Trump's victory speech. Credit: Washington Examiner

This victory places Trump in a rare historical category, becoming only the second president since the 19th century to secure non-consecutive terms. The only previous such occurrence was Grover Cleveland, who served as America's 22nd and 24th president.

For multiple compelling reasons, Trump's second ascent to the presidency carries even greater significance than his first. His return to power promises sweeping global changes: Trump will prioritize a rapid resolution to the Ukraine conflict. The author of "The Art of the Deal" will negotiate a settlement between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin. His approach will deny both leaders their maximum demands while refusing to allow an endless conflict without clear objectives.

The Israeli conflict will inevitably command his attention. Trump's administration will lift Joe Biden's restrictions on Israel, ensuring full support for Israeli needs. However, he will expect Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to establish definitive timelines for military operations.

Trump's victory over formidable domestic opposition – including seven pending legal challenges, significant resistance within the Republican Party he represented, and the united front of the Democratic establishment and mainstream media – signals an irreversible transformation in American politics.

The MAGA movement and the phenomenon of "Trumpism" have proven themselves not as temporary disruptions but as permanent fixtures in the American political landscape. Trump speaks of forging a new coalition that transcends traditional Republican Party boundaries, instead uniting various anti-establishment forces across America. Tellingly, his victory speech notably omitted any mention of "Republicans."

The alignment of Robert Kennedy Jr – the scion of America's preeminent Democratic dynasty – with Trump, specifically on anti-establishment grounds, powerfully illustrates the new contours of American politics.

The Republican Party has secured a Senate majority, yet this victory belongs less to traditional Republicans than to those who aligned themselves with Trump's vision. Those who resisted this realignment had already departed the political stage.

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The US Senate rejected a resolution on Tuesday that would have prohibited the proposed sale of advanced medium range air-to-air missiles, missile launchers and other weapons and support to Saudi Arabia.

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The vote was 67 to 30 against the resolution, which was introduced by Republicans Rand Paul and Mike Lee, as well as Bernie Sanders, who caucuses with Democrats.

While many US lawmakers consider Saudi Arabia an important partner in the Middle East, members of Congress also have criticized the country for its involvement in the war in Yemen, a conflict considered one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters.

"Exporting more missiles to Saudi Arabia does nothing but further this conflict and pour more gasoline on already raging fire," Sanders said in a speech urging support for the resolution of disapproval.

They have refused to approve military sales for the kingdom without assurances US equipment would not be used to kill civilians. Backers of the sale noted that US President Joe Biden's administration has already barred US sales of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia.

"I completely agree with the need to hold Saudi leadership accountable for a variety of actions... but I also believe that it is important that our security partners know that we will uphold our commitments," said Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The weapons package, which was approved by the State Department as well as leaders of the Senate and House foreign affairs committees, would include 280 AIM-120C-7/C-8 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), 596 LAU-128 Missile Rail Launchers (MRL) along other equipment and support.

Raytheon Technologies makes the missiles.

The Biden administration said earlier on Tuesday it strongly opposed the resolution.

Passage "would undermine the president's commitment to aid in our partner's defenses at a time of increased missile and drone attacks against civilians in Saudi Arabia," the White House Office of Management of Budget said in a statement.

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Voting mostly along party lines, the US Senate has confirmed former Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine to be the nation's assistant secretary of health. She is the first openly transgender federal official to win Senate confirmation.

The final vote Wednesday was 52-48. Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine joined all Democrats in supporting Levine.

Levine had been serving as Pennsylvania's top health official since 2017, and emerged as the public face of the state's response to the coronavirus pandemic. She is expected to oversee Health and Human Services offices and programs across the US

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Levine "will bring the steady leadership and essential expertise we need to get people through this pandemic – no matter their zip code, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability," Biden said.

Transgender-rights activists have hailed Levine's appointment as a historic breakthrough. Few trans people have ever held high-level offices at the federal or state level.

However, the confirmation vote came at a challenging moment for the transgender-rights movement as legislatures across the US – primarily those under Republican control – are considering an unprecedented wave of bills targeting trans young people.

One type of bill, introduced in at least 25 states, seeks to ban trans girls and young women from participating in female scholastic sports.

One such measure already has been signed into law by Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, and similar measures have been sent to the governors in Tennessee, Arkansas and South Dakota.

Another variety of bill, introduced in at least 17 states, seeks to outlaw or restrict certain types of medical care for transgender youths. None of these measures has yet won final approval.

Issues related to transgender rights also are a major factor in Republican opposition to the proposed Equality Act, which would extend federal civil rights protections to LGBTQ people across the US The measure has passed the Democratic-led House but likely needs some GOP votes to prevail in the Senate.

Former Houston Mayor Annise Parker, president of the LGBTQ Victory Institute, alluded to those developments as she welcomed the Senate's vote on Levine.

"At a time when hateful politicians are weaponizing trans lives for their own perceived political gain, Dr. Levine's confirmation lends focus to the contributions trans people make to our nation," said Parker, whose organization recruits and supports LGBTQ political candidates.

"Do you believe that minors are capable of making such a life-changing decision as changing one's sex?" Paul asked.

Levine replied that transgender medicine "is a very complex and nuanced field with robust research and standards of care" and said she would welcome discussing the issues with him.

In the past, Levine has asserted that hormone therapy and puberty-blocking drugs can be valuable medical tools in sparing some transgender youth from mental distress and possible suicide risk.

The confirmation vote was assailed by the conservative Family Research Council, which contended that Levine, in addition to her stance on transgender medical care, had supported "a variety of pro-abortion and anti-religious freedom proposals" while serving as Pennsylvania's health secretary.

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Senate candidate Khaled Salem, an Egyptian-born American who is running as a Democrat against Sen. Chuck Schumer in the 2020 mid-term election, is urging Israel to take definitive action against Hezbollah and Hamas.

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In a press release issued Tuesday, Salem, who serves as CEO of the American Human Rights organization, said that not only did Hamas and Hezbollah pose a threat to Israel, but also to peace in the entire Middle East.

"Israel should end these two entities," Salem shared. "It would do them a world of good, while making the entire area more stable."

Salem's message expressed surprise and disappointment that the two groups were based in countries that receive aid from the international community.

"This matter must end immediately, so the world can also cut Iran's wings in the Middle East," he said.

Salem is also urging Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and leaders of other Arab countries to release all Americans detained on their soil as soon as possible. He is encouraging the Biden administration to take a firm stance on not allowing any Americans to be detained in the Middle East.

As far as US policy in the Middle East as a whole, Salem favors reduced US military activity and presence the region.

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Khaled Salem, who has declared his candidacy for the US Senate in the 2022 midterm elections and will be running against Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, is urging Iran not to waste the opportunity to negotiate with the Biden administration over nuclear weapons.

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In a message to the Gulf states last week, Salem offered encouragement as well as voicing concerns about threats to peace in the region.

"Iran and the United States do not need to be on a collision course," Khaled said. "Yes, this could be a huge disaster, but this moment also presents an opportunity for both sides. Neither the US nor Iran want a war, especially not a nuclear confrontation. It's a complex matter, but also relatively simple. If the countries involved elect to move towards peace and cooperation, any issues can be worked out in good faith. There are solutions. It will take skilled diplomacy and good will to make it happen."

Salem was born in Egypt and raised in Kuwait. He immigrated to the United States in 1992.

Salem said he sees the current Iranian regime as aggravating geopolitical conditions in the Middle East to bolster its domestic support, an approach he says leads to heightened tension while also punishing the citizens of Iran because of foreign sanctions.

"The war-mongering benefits no one, except a power-hungry elite," Salem explained. "This needs to stop."

US President Joe Biden is offering an honorable path to peace, and Iran should take it, Salem said.

Salem also advised Gulf States to seek other resources for their people from under the umbrella of the Biden administration and pressed for the US to continue its alliance with Israel and protect Israel from Iranian hostility and other regional forces that embrace terrorism.

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"This is a sad day for America, regardless of how we got there … The Chinese are looking at this with glee and that's a tragedy," Florida's Republican Senator Marco Rubio said on Wednesday in the wake of the riots on Capitol Hill.

"We look like a third-world country. This cannot happen."

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Even though Rubio was supportive of the efforts to scrutinize the voting procedures to find out if the November 2020 election produced fraudulent results, the fact that throngs of protesters stormed Congress as if it were the Bastille was just too much.

"We can't do it this way. We can't have half of America that is happy and half of it unhappy; the America that we know marches in unison," he said.

The year 2020 was tough, but now 2021 is off to a terrible start. I visited the US just two months ago to cover the election, held under the difficult conditions set by the pandemic and after a campaign like no other. I have witnessed and covered many things in life but on Wednesday, as I was walking in Washington, I could not believe that I was actually in the beating heart of the world's most powerful democracy, the leader of the free world. I could believe the America we have come to admire so much had devolved to this state of affairs.

The events on Wednesday actually got off to a good start. I arrived just before the storm, when a peaceful rally began outside the White House. It was a celebration of democracy, demanding the elections get proper scrutiny. Then the protesters began marching toward Capitol Hill. I saw families, parents and children. They had come to see their president, who addressed them from the rally's podium. They were convinced that their vote was stolen. But that did not stop the energy from infusing the event and the loud cheering of Trump fans.

And then, out of nowhere, things went haywire. Trump supporters stormed the barricades and even damaged the tribunes set up for the upcoming inauguration. Some breached the perimeter and entered the actual legislative chambers. It was true pandemonium.

"The door was knocked down, so I just entered," a woman told me. She came with her friend from Florida. "We covered the statues with Trump 2020 flags and then we were asked to vacate the premises, and we left." But some of her friends refused to follow this order.

Not a uniter-in-chief

This was a bad day for Republicans, but in all the chaos one should not lose sight of the hypocritical conduct of CNN and other networks that defended the rioters in the George Floyd protests that swept the country and refused to condemn those who were trying to damage federal buildings in Portland. CNN has also forgotten the major protests that erupted on the very day of Trump inauguration in 2017, and Hillary Clinton's insistence that Trump is not a legitimate president.

But in our world, there are some instances that just look bad, no matter what you do. This was the case with Trump this time. He enthused the crowd to the point that could have triggered a chain of chaotic events. It's hard to believe that this was his direct fault, but a president is supposed to be a uniter, and Trump has refused to embrace that idea all through his term. As far as he is concerned, his goal is to cater to his base and nothing more, but that doesn't mean he is responsible for its conduct. The last time the building was breached in such a manner was in 1812, when the UK attacked the American capital. The images this week were truly historic. Daniel, who arrived in DC from North Carolina this week, told me just outside my hotel during the curfew on Wednesday that "today America saw that the people cannot be defrauded. We entered the Holy of Holies of American democracy. Why can the Left carry out destruction, but we can't do the same?"

John, from Ohio, was less convinced. He told me the protesters made the wrong call by storming the Capitol. He told me that the events make it impossible for Trump to launch another bid for president in four years. As Rubio said, these were third-world country images.

"The people here don't want to see the election being stolen by socialists and the fake media," Trump said during his rally, just before the storm. Later, when he realized that things were truly out of control, he turned to his supporters on Twitter and implored on them to "go home" and "remain peaceful by showing respect for the men and women in blue."

Trump may have called for calm, but for Twitter that was not enough and it suspended his account for 12 hours, citing his alleged efforts to overturn the elections.

The Democrats' sweep

Ironically, the pace of events made the political drama that had unfolded a day earlier seem like ancient history: The Democrats won Georgia's two Senate seats in the special runoff. For the first time since 2014 they are now (starting Jan. 20) going to be in control of the White House and both chambers of Congress. The donkeys have conquered the capital, albeit with a razor-thin majority.

Incumbent Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who lost one of the Georgia runoff races, conceded on Thursday that now that the Electoral College's vote has been certified by Congress, the country must unite behind Joe Biden. Even Trump's ally Sean Hannity from Fox News went out of his way to condemn the violence and called for the arrest and prosecution of all the rioters.

It was a sad fact that during a day celebrating one of the oldest democratic traditions in America – the certification of an election – the National Guard had to be called up to protect the people's legislative chamber and one of the symbols of the capital from an angry mob.

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But for all the drama on Wednesday, the American people, already exhausted by the pandemic and economic recession, are more focused on vaccinations and want to know why they are not being distributed fast enough. The Right, which was also shocked by events, apportions blame on the media for ignoring the Left's radical groups, such as Antifa. It wants to know why the security forces and the Left were not as determined to prevent the riots during the George Floyd protests six months ago. But above all, Americans want to go back to normalcy.

The Democrats must also do some soul-searching. When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is seen on television shredding the president's speech right after he delivers the State of the Union Address, this sends a message that is not lost on Trump's base. Of course, this does make violence justifiable, but it creates unnecessary antagonism. That said, in light of Thursday's events, there was widespread agreement on both sides of the political divide that it was time for Trump to abandon his efforts to overturn the election and let Biden prepare for taking office. And late Thursday, Trump did just that by addressing the nation and officially conceding the election. A few hours earlier he even vowed to engage in an "orderly" transition.

One of the people I met outside the Capitol was from Texas. As you would expect from someone who grew up in the Lone Star State, the violence he saw barely made had an impact on him. He told me I should look at the grand scheme of things.

"It's a good day because I think we will see some justice hopefully be done, it's going to be sad if we don't see justice. So we're really at a critical turning point in American history," he said.

I asked him whether he approved of the riots, to which he replied, "I don't like it that they went in that far. I think that's kind of sad. I think that is always the case when you get a group of people. There are a few idiots, but for the most part, just coming out around the Capitol building there are not people destroying the Capitol."

Finally, I asked him if Biden was his President-elect. His response could not be more forceful: "Oh hell no. Never."

I saw another Texan, Brad Comes. He was waving his state's flag and donning a cowboy hat. He told me that "today was a peaceful show of numbers and force." As far as he was concerned, the events spiraled out control but this should not come as a surprise. "These are people who are dedicated enough to drive all the way across the country to show up on the same spot on the same day for their president. And anyone who understands statistics knows there is no way he lost this election. If they are just going to steal our vote and take our money then we are just tax slaves."

When I asked him if it was a mistake to ransack the place, he said: "God knows on that one. It's his world, I just do my little part in it. If they had listened to peaceful protests we wouldn't have to resort to such things. Black Lives Matter get their way because they violence in destruction. We have been watching it for a year. What were we supposed to do? Allow them to take over our country because we are not willing to stand up for ourselves?"

When I asked him who his president was going to be on Jan. 20, his response was immediate. "It's Donald J. Trump," he said.

Back to Georgia. The two runoff elections on Tuesday produced historic results, even though they were all but forgotten after the hectic events that unfolded in Washington a day later. The Democrats don't usually win in that southern conservative state. In fact, Republicans had won every Senate race there since 2000. They have so far won every election in the state for governor since 1998 and for attorney general since 2006. But over the past two decades, the Left has gradually managed to paint the red state in blue, until a critical mass was reached in November, when Georgians chose Biden over Trump. Then, on Tuesday, they decided to send two Democrats to serve as their senators in Washington. This is nothing short of a political earthquake, but it was reduced to a footnote in a news cycle dominated by violence.

Georgians who were traveling to Washington could be easily spotted at Atlanta's airport this week by their Trump 2020 flags and masks. Quite a few of them were on my flight to Washington, just hours after the results in the two runoffs were announced. They could not be more depressed and shocked, feeling that more salt had been placed on the wounds of the conservative camp in America, while the Democrats were on cloud nine.

In the two months between the first round in November and the runoffs on Tuesday, the Democrats worked hard to register more voters, while the Republicans were too busy challenging the Electoral College vote, with the encouragement of Trump (who had every right to believe that he had been denied a fair election, considering that he increased his electoral showing compared to 2016 by some 15 million votes). But the Democrats wasted no time and won because of former Democratic candidate for Governor Stacey Abrams, who worked tirelessly to get more African American voters involved. Democrats are now optimistic that more states will follow Georgia's path and become blue or at the very least purple, including Texas.

Media outlets in the US have described the two runoffs as the most important Senate races in history. Some $500 million were spent on ads over the past two months, and the GOP could not be more disappointed, especially because they were so close to winning in November. Republican candidate (and then still incumbent senator) David Perdue almost crossed the 50% threshold in the first round against 33-year-old Jewish candidate Jon Ossoff. Had Perdue won, the Republicans would have guaranteed a continued hold on the Senate for the next two years, but since neither he nor the other Republican candidate, Loeffler, could win an outright majority of the vote, a runoff was declared in both seats, ending on Tuesday with stunning losses. Perdue lost to Ossoff, and Loeffler lost to Democratic pastor Raphael Warnock, who leads Dr. Martin Luther King's church. But unlike Dr. King, he is no Israel ally.

For Georgians, there is finally some rest, after being bombarded with ads over the past two months. It appears that they were not too keen on having everyone make them the focus of attention. Even in the Trump rally I attended just north of Atlanta just before the vote, it was clear that they were eager to put this election behind them, unlike the voters I saw in rallies in Pennsylvania and Arizona during the November presidential race.

"He was an amazing president, and had he been more careful in his rhetoric and been less reluctant to wear masks, he would have been elected for another four years in the White House and we would have also held on to the Senate," Jeff, a businessman from Atlanta, told me.

Murphy, who lives in neighboring Alabama told me that he has "only one America, and I won't let the Democrats ruin it for me." He was also on the plane to Washington, and he brought a flag along with him. "They are ashamed of being Americans, they are ashamed of our history and our heritage; but proud people like me celebrate America. I am truly concerned about the fate of my flag." This reminded me of an African American man I met in Atlanta, who explained to me that "With the Republicans, life is better in America."

But for all the drama in Washington and in Georgia, the real focus for most Americans is the pandemic. We may no longer be in 2020, but the virus is spreading fast, creating scary headlines in practically every front page. The vaccination drive, despite being launched in December, is stalling. This time, for a change, the Trump administration is not being blamed. It appears that the local officials and drug companies are moving too slow to make sure the vaccines reach as many arms as possible.

US Vice President Mike Pence was probably the most important political figure this week. He chose to follow his conscience by not playing along with the effort to overturn the election during the crucial joint meeting of Congress, despite presiding over the event. He reportedly told Trump the constitution makes his role in the certification of the vote mostly ceremonial and thus he had no choice but certify his loss.

Some would probably say this has more to do with Pence's possible 2024 presidential bid and that any effort to sabotage the certification process would have killed his prospects. As for Trump, it is unclear whether the events of this week adversely affect his apparent wish to launch another run in 2024. Looking back, this week could be seen as the first event of his future campaign.

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The southern state that has been a "Red," Republican state for decades voted for Joe Biden in the presidential election. On Tuesday, Democrats hoped that the state would also elect a Democrat to the Senate for the first time in 20 years.

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However, the Republicans are determined to revert to how things used to be: to regain Georgia, or at least to turn it into a swing state.

Tuesday was one of the most dramatic days American politics have seen in a long time.

Everywhere you go, you can feel that something substantial has happened in the state, and it seems that the Senate elections in the US have never before held such worldwide implications.

One could say that for the first time, local elections to the Senate are becoming elections on America's very character. President Donald Trump noted so himself at his rally in northern Georgia on Monday, in an attempt to encourage Republican voters to go to the polls.

He asked the audience  if they wanted to be a free country, as America should be, or if they wanted to be like Venezuela (more on the rally below.)

Jeff, whom I met in town, thinks like many Georgians: there is no way that the conservative state has turned "blue. "He believes that Democrats will not be able to repeat President-elect Joe Biden's success with the state's two senate seats. if the Democrats win both seats, they will be in charge of the Senate, and Biden will be free to act as he pleases.)

Monday saw Jeff determined to prevent what he considered to be election fraud.

"Of course, there's been [election] fraud, there is no way Trump had lost having received 15 million more votes in the electorate compared to 2016," he said, adding that proving it will probably be difficult.

"It is hard to prove, and a question arises –could it be that all the judges in all the states are corrupt and cooperated with the Democrats? I and the people of Georgia have no doubt that there's been fraud and I hope that this time Republican voters will come to the polls."

The Democratic victory was, in fact, a demographic victory. That is, the changes in the state's population over the past few decades have gradually turned the state blue and had a small impact on the presidential election.
But Jeff believes that Georgians are still more in favor of Trump, as can be felt on the streets.

"You don't have to love the candidate, but you need to appreciate him. President Trump helped Americans from all walks of life. He loves America. He works solely for America."

Jeff insists Democrats are wrong in thinking they can replicate Biden's success by having Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock elected to replace Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler.

But he warns that corruption is possible. He notes that Stacey Abrams, who tried to run for governor in Georgia but failed, has since been recruiting many voters from the African-American community.

Jeff said that Abrams' sister, who is a judge, rejected the state election fraud petitions filed by Trump officials, and there is concern that this time, with the Senate elections, she and other judges connected to Abrams will do the Democrats' bidding.

In general, people do not understand how Trump could lose the elections if he led all the swing states – even if we take into account the early mail-in votes that are traditionally for the Democrats and are counted late.

"Trump is here to stay. He will be much stronger and more significant, even if he doesn't run [in the presidential election] in 2024," Jeff concluded.

Either way, for Trump, the campaign for Georgia's two Senate seats, which will decide who will gain full control of Congress, is a battle for his legacy in the party.

The final chord of his tenure is the opening tune of Joe Biden's presidency, who hopes that November's momentum will bring about the Democratic victory of the two Senate seats in Georgia, giving him almost complete freedom to promoting his party's agenda in Congress.

Thousands attended Trump's rally, young and old, with babies and strollers, in the freezing cold, waiting in long lines – only to see President Donald Trump, their rock star, arrive in Dalton in northern Georgia.

The president's son, Donald Trump Jr., shared heartwarming news with the crowd and announced that he was transitioning from business into politics.

He attacked what he called the "troll" of Democrats, who took advantage of Sunday's new Congress opening prayer and turned it into an event with their politically correct agenda on a level that has never been seen before, as they turned a traditional prayer into one that finishes with the words "Amen and a-woman."

"Amen is not a gendered term. It's been used for a couple of thousands of years," Trump Jr. said. "If I go to a restaurant and I ask to see what's on the woman-u, they would look at me like I'm a moron."

He said the Senate vote was the most significant for America as it decided on the very character of the country, its churches, and schools.

As in his presidential campaign, Trump came this time to Georgia to hold a massive rally that would excite the base and make a difference in the neck and neck battle over the southern state's two Senate seats. In terms of attendees, Trump has won. The audience roared that they had prevented election fraud.

Trump himself does not look like a man who intends to give up, and he knows that only today will the official president be announced.
He even said he hopes Vice President Mike Pence will use all his bearing at the two houses of Congress to ensure the electoral count ends with him being named president-elect.

Today, during the crucial Congress session, the November election will come to an end, in one way or another.
Some Republicans in the Senate will do anything to get the process dragged on for hours in an attempt to disqualify electoral votes, and Trump will be holding a rally in Washington.

Will the end of the vote count reveals that he has won 270 electorates? He continues to hope.

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Dalton is a town in northern Georgia. When you arrive, everything is metaphorically red, like Georgia itself was for decades until it voted for Biden in November.

But in Dalton, Republican is the only way to vote. I'm sitting in the Oakwood Café, considered a city institution, and the feeling is that morale isn't especially high. The fact that Trump didn't win in November has hurt his supporter's mood and confidence.

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There weren't many visitors because of COVID, I thought. "Sit where you like," the waitress tells me.

I meet one of the diners, Claire. She doesn't understand what happened to people in Atlanta.

"I vote like my grandfather, and I expect my granddaughter to do the same. But something happened in Atlanta, unless there was election fraud," she says, and adds: "I'm so exciting that Trump is coming here. We won't disappoint him because he doesn't disappoint us."

Dalton is the carpet capital of the world – it has carpet factories on every corner. The city is home to many working-class people.

A group of people who came from Chattanooga, Tennessee, is sitting in the café. They are convinced that Trump will be president again. Mostly, they don't understand how the South is losing Georgia.

A family sitting at another table is from Gainesville, and they came especially to see the president. They are dressed accordingly, in Trump campaign shirts.

"We drove two hours just to see him. We believe he'll have another four years, not in 2024, but in January," they tell me. "The media kicked him out but we, the people, will put him back," the mother says.

Her husband adds: "You're from Israel. We heard they really like him there. He's the president that brought peace."

In the parking lot, I meet Lloyd. He arrived from Pensacola, Florida – a 400-mile drive. "The God of Israel is loyal to his people and I believe there will be a miracle, and he will be president," he says. Lloyd is going on to Washington to witness the miracle that he says will happen on Wednesday, when Congress counts the electoral votes.

Two months ago, everything was almost done: Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler were on the brink of victory, and almost won Georgia's two Senate seats.

The suburban story

But in this southern state, the special law does not allow a simple win – candidates must secure over 50% of the vote. Therefore, as if the law were written especially for the insane 2020 election, we find ourselves in a situation in which the second round for the state's two Senate seats will decide who controls the upper house of the US Congress – and to a large extent determine President-elect Joe Biden's ability to promote a left-wing agenda.

In general, the story of Georgia is the story of the suburbs: movement to the suburbs of America's large cities created blue, liberal bubbles in the heart of red Georgia. That was enough to give Biden a narrow win two months ago, but will the Democrats keep Georgia Democratic in Tuesday's Senate runoff? It's tough to believe. But Georgia is purple – neither red nor blue. And it could be interesting.

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If the Democrats win both seats on Tuesday, the Senate will split 50-50 and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will have the deciding vote. The two seats are worth their weight in gold: President Trump and President-elect Biden both came to Georgia on Monday to hold rallies, in an attempt to decide the runoff. The Republicans have an easier job, since they only need to win one seat to maintain control of the Senate.

The media laid into the president this week because of a phone conversation he had with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger about finding him votes that weren't counted properly. The Democrats claimed that this was an abuse of presidential authority as bad as Watergate, but former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, a resident of Georgia, defended the president and said he was simply "behaving like a president," and had a right to exercise his rights.

Gingrich and other Republicans think that the Georgia secretary of state did something unacceptable by recording the conversation, and the White House even turned the case over to the Secret Service to see if it entailed some violation of espionage laws.

Tuesday's runoff is for two seats. One race is between incumbent Senator Kelly Loeffler and African-American pastor Raphael Warnock. The second race is between incumbent Senator David Perdue and Jewish candidate Jon Ossoff. The Republicans are on the defensive, like Trump in the 2020 election. A situation has been created that is fateful not only for the Senate, but for Trump's political future: on Wednesday, both houses of Congress will meet to count the votes cast by the states' electors, and when it is over, the president-elect will officially be declared.

Trump knows that this is his last chance to continue on to a second term. Trump still believes that this session can give him a victory, and he has backing from Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who has already enlisted more than 10 senators, and a few congressional representatives.

Trump hopes that the momentum Cruz is building up will lead to a long procedure at the end of which, neither Trump nor Biden will have 270 electors. In that case, the decision would be handed over to the House of Representatives, which would have to hold a special vote. The chances that the complicated process will go that far are slim, but Trump intends to hold a massive rally in Washington on Wednesday to pressure the Republicans to do everything they can.

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The Senate fell short Wednesday trying to halt the Trump administration's proposed $23 billion arms sales to the United Arab Emirates. 

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Senators argued that the sale of F-35 fighter jets and drones was unfolding too quickly and with too many questions.

The administration has billed it as a way to deter Iran, but the UAE would become the first Arab nation to possess the stealth warplanes.

"Can a lasting peace be purchased with more weapons?" asked Kentucky Senator Rand Paul in a speech ahead of the vote.

Congress has shown a willingness to confront Trump in one main area – on defense policy. But on Wednesday, the effort to turn back the arms sales failed to reach the 51-vote majority needed for passage. Trump was expected to veto the two resolutions anyway.

The showdown over the sale is potentially a final power play between the executive and legislative branches in the final weeks of Trump's presidency. The Senate will take up the broader defense bill soon.

Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy said in a statement after the vote that he was eager to work with President-elect Joe Biden's administration "to take a closer look at each of these sales before any transfers are completed."

Murphy said the UAE's track record in war-torn Yemen and Libya, and its "complicated" relationships with China and Russia raise more questions than answers.

"I'm not here to say that we shouldn't be in the security business with the UAE," Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said during the debate.

But, he said, "without resolving those issues, is this the moment to be selling for the first time ever F-35s, armed drones into the heart of the Middle East?"

The arms sale emerged following the US-brokered Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between the UAE, Bahrain, and Israel.

In notifying Congress last month, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo authorized the sale, saying it was in recognition of the "deepening relationship" with the UAE and its need to deter threats from Iran.

Pompeo said the "historic agreement" reached with the Abraham Accords offered a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" to transform the region's "strategic landscape."

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