Blackburn Spox: She Didn’t Mean To Say President-Elect

The Tennessean reports:

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a stalwart supporter of President Donald Trump, on Friday referred to Joe Biden as the country’s “president-elect,” a comment her staff later said was a mistake. Blackburn made the comments Friday evening live on ABC News, where she was being interviewed by Juju Chang.

The remark placed her among just a handful of Republican senators signaling acknowledgement of Biden’s projected victory. Chang asked Blackburn whether she had been in contact with Biden to congratulate him, as president-elect, on his victory.

“I have not spoken with the president-elect,” Blackburn said. “We did have the vice president come to the floor, the vice president-elect come to the floor this week to cast a vote. I was presiding at the time. Didn’t get to speak with her.”

Blackburn’s spox says she “misspoke.”

“I have not spoken with the president-elect. We did have… the vice president-elect come to the floor this week to cast a vote.”

Tennessee Sen. @MarshaBlackburn joins @ABCNewsLive to discuss the 2020 presidential election. https://t.co/kdxmfLUSX7 pic.twitter.com/ZQnONMdC3i

— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) November 21, 2020