Incumbent Republican President Donald Trump erupted Thursday in a tirade of unsubstantiated claims that the Democrats were “trying to steal the election,” AFP reported. The President made the statement at the White House, right after he shot a number of tweets, that were flagged by the social media platform.
“All of the recent Biden claimed States will be legally challenged by us for Voter Fraud and State Election Fraud,” he said in a tweet.
“Plenty of proof.”
Twitter flagged the tweet and labelled it as “disputed” and “misleading.”
“STOP THE FRAUD!” he said in another tweet that was flagged by Twitter.
“STOP THE COUNT!” he said, in yet another tweet.
“They are trying to steal the election,” he said at the White House on Thursday, his first address since Election Day.
Trump used the remarks of nearly 17 minutes to make the kind of incendiary statements about the country’s democratic process that have never been heard before from a US president.
Also read: All of recent Joe Biden claimed States will be legally challenged, says Donald Trump
According to Trump, Democrats were using “illegal votes” to “steal the election from us.”
“If you count the legal votes, I easily win,” he claimed.
“They’re trying to rig an election. And we can’t let that happen.”
Beyond the rhetoric, Trump’s complaints were specifically targeting the integrity of the huge number of ballots mailed in, rather than cast in person on Election Day.
Also read: Donald Trump loses Michigan lawsuit
The big shift to postal ballots this year reflected the desire of voters to avoid risking exposure to COVID-19 in crowded polling stations during a pandemic that has already killed more than 230,000 Americans.
As Trump had denied the seriousness of the virus and told his supporters not to support mail-in ballots, far fewer Republicans took advantage of the option, compared to Democrats.
Several major US television networks cut away from live coverage of Trump’s event soon after it started, with MSNBC citing the need to correct false claims by the president.
After winning the swing states of Wisconsin and Michigan, Biden has assumed a significant lead over Trump.
Also read: Donald Trump files lawsuits alleging multiple ‘frauds’
The states won by Biden have 253 college electoral votes as compared to 214 won by Trump, according to The New York Times.
Biden has 264 with the inclusion of Arizona, which Fox News and the Associated Press have called in his favor, but other major organizations have not.
If Biden took Pennsylvania, he would grab 20 more electoral college votes, thereby instantly topping the necessary 270 for overall victory.
