President Donald Trump began Thursday, the 16th day since Election Day and the 12th since networks called the presidential race for Joe Biden, once again railing against election fraud despite a string of defeats in court.
Trump again called the election ‘rigged,’ and said there is ‘no way’ Democrats could have defeated him.
For the second day in a row, he retweeted a graphic from the New York Times showing he got 10.1 million more votes than four years ago – leaving out a succeeding graphic showing that Joe Biden got 16 million more votes than Hillary Clinton.
President Donald Trump blasted out repeated accusations of voter fraud, hyped a news conference by his lawyers, and claimed the election was ‘rigged,’ even as he took credit for House GOP wins
Those numbers are one reason Biden won nearly 6 million more votes than Trump did.
‘And with these numbers, by far the highest for a sitting President, there was no way the Dems could have won, except through what we are learning now – A Rigged Election!’ Trump tweeted.
He once again claimed mass voter fraud in largely Democratic urban centers, many with large concentrations of black voters, that ran up big margins for Biden – in keeping with his legal strategy of contesting the count in states where Biden won more votes than he did.
Trump homed in on Michigan, where there was ongoing drama around the certification of votes in Wayne County, which includes Detroit.
Trump tagged Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in his claims of voter fraud in the state
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger speaks during a news conference on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020, in Atlanta. Georgia election officials have announced an audit of presidential election results that will trigger a full hand recount. He has said changes will not likely make a difference in the outcome
Elections workers gather around and look at their phones at the Detroit Department of Elections Central Counting Board Voting at TCF Center, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020 in Detroit, MI
Trump’s claim of ‘rampant’ fraud in Detroit earned a flag from Twitter
‘Voter Fraud in Detroit is rampant, and has been for many years!’ Trump wrote – earning yet another flag from Twitter, which noted dryly: ‘This claim about voter fraud is disputed.’
The claim also appears to have been rejected by the four-member Wayne County board of canvassers, who dramatically voted to certify the vote after a turnaround by two Republicans who got skewered on a zoom call.
In the latest twist, the two Republican board members who finally voted to certify the vote are now claiming ‘intense bullying and coercion’ and want their votes rescinded.
The canvassers, Monica Palmer and William Hartmann, now claim pledges they got of a comprehensive audit ‘will not be fulfilled.’
‘I rescind my prior vote to certify Wayne County elections,’ Palmer wrote in a sworn affidavit. It’s not clear that the move has any effect, since the official vote already happened, moving the issue on to a state board, and since the deadline has passed, the Detroit News reported.
According to the Associated Press, who quoted a person familiar with the matter, Trump personally reached out to the two county officials Tuesday evening to express his gratitude for their support – before the two moved to rescind their votes.
With canvassing now completed, President-elect Biden defeated Trump in Michigan by more than 154,000, or about 3 per cent.
Trump defeated Hillary Clinton there four years ago by fewer than 11,000 votes.
Trump also hyped an ‘Important News Conference today by lawyers on a very clear and viable path to victory’ at the Republican National Convention. ‘Pieces are very nicely falling into place.’
Recent pieces have included a string of defeats in court, including this week’s 5-2 decision against the Trump campaign at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani filed a brief Wednesday in federal court in Pennsylvania asking for him to be declared the winner with hundreds of thousands of votes thrown out due to unverified claims of voter fraud.
With results from a Georgia recount coming in imminently in a state where he trails Biden, Trump tweeted: ‘Thousands of uncounted votes discovered in Georgia counties. When the much more important signature match takes place, the State will flip Republican, and very quickly. Get it done!’ Trump then tagged GOP Gov. Brian Kemp.
Georgia’s secretary of state has said the recount uncovered ballots left out through errors, but that it likely won’t make a difference in the outcome.
Even as he proclaimed a massive fraud in the presidential race, Trump appeared to take credit for a strong showing by House Republicans, who picked up seats and gave Speaker Nancy Pelosi a narrow majority.
He retweeted a post about Republicans cleaning up in races deemed toss-ups.
‘It was my great honor to help, a tremendous achievement!’ Trump wrote.