Trump says Biden should not ‘wrongfully’ claim victory and says his lead ‘miraculously’ disappeared
Donald Trump launches new barrage of conspiracy claims tweeting that ‘tens of thousands’ of ‘illegal’ votes arrived after polls closed and ‘tractors blocked doors and windows’ as people screamed STOP THE COUNT
- Trump launched new Twitter tirade on Saturday morning from the White House
- Claimed it was illegal for Pennsylvania to accept mail-in ballots after Tuesday
- Alleged observers were blocked from watching the vote counting there
- Bizarrely claimed that ‘tractors’ blocked the doors and windows of vote centers
- Joe Biden said in his speech Friday that it’s ‘clear’ he is going to win
- If Biden wins Pennsylvania, he will have enough votes to carry him to victory
- But thousands of votes still have to be counted in the state, along with ballots in Georgia, Arizona and Nevada where the race is still tight
President Donald Trump continued to make a number of dubious factual claims and legal arguments in a Twitter tirade Saturday morning alleging that ‘tractors’ obstructed observers from viewing vote counting in Pennsylvania.
Trump’s tweets from the White House pushed a legal argument that Pennsylvania should not have accepted mail-in ballots after polls closed on Election Day.
Citing the pandemic, Pennsylvania’s state Supreme Court last month extended the state’s usual Election Day deadline so ballots could be received by mail until 5pm on Friday, November 6, if they were either postmarked by Election Day or have missing or illegible postmarks. The Trump campaign has filed suit to overturn that decision.
‘Tens of thousands of votes were illegally received after 8 P.M. on Tuesday, Election Day, totally and easily changing the results in Pennsylvania and certain other razor thin states,’ Trump said in his Saturday tweets.
Donald Trump, pictured on Thursday night, spent Friday evening tweeting in anger
Trump also repeated claims that observers have been blocked from watching the vote counting in Pennsylvania this week.
Democrats did not try to stop Republican representatives from being able to observe the process in Pennsylvania, but the Trump campaign sued to allow the observers to get closer than the 25 feet that the guidelines had allowed. A court ruled in favor of that request.
‘As a separate matter, hundreds of thousands of Votes were illegally not allowed to be OBSERVED. This would ALSO change the Election result in numerous States, including Pennsylvania, which everyone thought was easily won on Election Night, only to see a massive lead disappear, without anyone being allowed to OBSERVE, for long intervals of time, what the happened,’ Trump tweeted.
‘Bad things took place during those hours where LEGAL TRANSPARENCY was viciously & crudely not allowed. Tractors blocked doors & windows were covered with thick cardboard so that observers could not see into the count rooms. BAD THINGS HAPPENED INSIDE. BIG CHANGES TOOK PLACE!,’ he continued.
It was not immediately clear what tractors Trump was referring to. At one Pennsylvania polling spot, windows were covered with paper after poll workers claimed people were filming and could possibly see details on ballots. The paper was later removed.
It came after Trump spent Friday evening tweeting furiously to air a series of fraud conspiracies, while his rival Joe Biden addressed the nation to call for calm and reassure voters that their ballots would be counted.
As the sun set on Friday, and as yet more results showed the race turning for Biden in Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Arizona, Trump, 74, was threatening legal action.
‘Joe Biden should not wrongfully claim the office of the President,’ he said.
‘I could make that claim also. Legal proceedings are just now beginning!’
He also shared attacks on Fox News calling Arizona early in the race, claims that mail-in ballots postmarked after election day were counted and suggestions that poll watchers were barred from watching counts.
Biden hoped to celebrate a presidential victory on Friday with his late-night speech at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware, with running mate Kamala Harris at his side.
He said it’s ‘clear’ he’s going to win, but the counting process continued in the key states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada, where he is expanding his lead.
Pennsylvania alone would take him to 273 electoral college votes, while if Arizona and Nevada declare before the Keystone state, he would hit 270. If he takes all four – which appears very likely, he would have 302 electoral college votes, the same as Trump, but in contrast, a thumping popular vote majority of more than four million.
Pennsylvania could be called Saturday, as could Nevada and possibly Arizona; Georgia is so close that it is certain to have a recount.
The president then spent the next few hours ranting about the results trickling in from key state Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona and Georgia – giving Biden a lead over him.
‘I had such a big lead in all of these states late into election night, only to see the leads miraculously disappear as the days went by,’ he said.
‘Perhaps these leads will return as our legal proceedings move forward!’ he concluded, hopefully.
Several hours later Trump was watching Fox Business, and tweeting some of his favorite lines from the pundits.
‘“We need an explanation as to how these numbers have been running up for the last two or three days.” Matthew Whitaker. @EveningEdit,’ he tweeted.
He was particularly impressed by Jim Jordan, the Ohio congressman who was re-elected on Tuesday.
Jordan told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that it was ‘worse than we thought’.
He said people in Pennsylvania were ‘allowing votes to come in after the day’ – something which the courts ruled could happen, provided the ballots were postmarked by election day.
He also railed at ‘the transparency issue’, claiming – without evidence – that election monitors like Dave Bossie were being asked to leave.
‘This is the first time in history that you have a party systematically set out to win the election after the election, and it has to be stopped.’
Trump tweeted: ‘Incredibly stated Jim!’
When Jordan then tweeted news of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s ruling that county election boards in Pennsylvania comply with a state directive to separate mail-in ballots received after Election Day from other ballots – a ruling reinforcing a procedure that they were supposed to already be doing – he said: First win for election integrity!’
Trump retweeted his remarks.
While Biden gave a late-night speech in Wilmington, Delaware, where he said the American people had given him a ‘mandate’, the president tweeted links to stories retweeted by conservative activist Dan Bongino, saying: The Polls Were More Wrong in 2020 Than in 2016′.
He also retweeted multiple tweets from commentator Paul Sperry, who asked: ‘Why was there such a disproportionately large share of singular Biden-only ballots?’
He also asked: ‘How many people who requested and mailed in ballots near or on Election Day also showed up at the polls on Election Day and cast ballots in Philly, Milwaukee, Detroit, Atlanta and Vegas?’
The president then retweeted a story from Newsmax, owned by his friend Chris Ruddy, with the headline: ‘True Electoral Count Shows Trump Winning’
Trump also retweeted remarks by Tom Bevan, co-founder of Real Clear Politics, who criticized the decision by Fox News on Tuesday night to call Arizona for Biden – a decision which Vanity Fair said led Trump to call Rupert Murdoch and demand a retraction.
‘It doesn’t matter if Fox’s call of AZ ends up being correct in the end,’ said Bevan.
‘It was totally unnecessary to call it as early as they did.
‘And the fact they jumped to call it, after waiting hours to call FL when 97% was in and Trump up 3+points is an awful double standard.’
He concluded his flurry by retweeting conservative radio host Buck Sexton, who asked: ‘Does anyone even try to make an argument why there is a good faith reason to block GOP poll watchers, or are we just supposed to ignore how highly suspicious that seems?’
There is no evidence that legitimate Republican poll monitors have been blocked from observing ballots being counted.
Biden never mentioned Trump directly as he spoke but presented a drastic change of tone, saying that the ‘purpose of our politics isn’t total, unrelenting warfare.’
‘No, the purpose of our politics, the work of our nation, isn’t to fan the flames of conflict, but to solve problems, to guarantee justice, to give everybody a fair shot and to improve the lives of our people.’
‘We may be opponents – but we are not enemies. We are Americans,’ he continued. That didn’t stop him from boasting about wins, however.
‘One of the things I’m especially proud of is how well we’ve done all across America,’ he told a crowd of socially distanced reporters and staff. ‘We are going to be the first Democrat to win Arizona in 24 years. We are going to be the first Democrat to win Georgia in 28 years.’
‘And we re-built the Blue Wall in the middle of the country that crumbled just four years ago: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin.’
Biden did not answer questions on whether Trump should concede. He did indicate he expects a result in the presidential contest on Saturday.
Joe Biden addressed the nation late Friday night, as his leads expanded in Pennsylvania and Nevada putting him on the cusp of winning the presidency
Speaking alongside his running mate Kamala Harris, Biden said he is on his way to a ‘clear win’, predicting more than 300 electoral votes in his favor
Biden’s campaign has kept ready an outdoor stage at the Chase Center (pictured) in Wilmington, Delaware
Read Joe Biden’s late-night address to the nation in full
We don’t have a final declaration of victory yet, but the numbers tell a clear and convincing story: We are going to win this race. Just look at what has happened since yesterday. In 24 hours, we were behind in Georgia. Now we’re ahead and we’re going to win that state.
Twenty-four hours ago, we were behind in Pennsylvania, and we are going to win Pennsylvania, and now we’re ahead. We’re winning Arizona. We’re winning Nevada. In fact, our lead just doubled in Nevada.
We’re on track for over 300 Electoral College votes. And look at the national numbers. We’re going to win this race with a clear majority of the nation behind us. We’ve gotten over 74 million votes. Let me repeat that: 74 million votes. That’s more than any presidential ticket has ever gotten in the history of the United States of America. And out vote total is still growing.
We’re beating Donald Trump by over 4 million votes, and that margin is still growing as well. One of the things I’m especially proud of is how well we’ve done across America.We are going to be the first Democrat to win Arizona in 24 years. We are going to be the first Democrat to win Georgia in 28 years.
And we re-built the blue wall in the middle of the country that crumbled just four years ago: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin – the heartland of this nation.
I know watching these vote tallies on TV move very slowly, and as slow as it goes it can be numbing.
But never forget: the tallies aren’t just numbers – they represent votes and voters, men and women who exercised their fundamental right to have their voice heard. And what is becoming clearer each hour is that a record number of Americans – from all races, faiths, religions – chose change over more of the same.
They have given us a mandate for action on Covid, the economy, climate change, systemic racism. They made it clear they want the country to come together – not continue to pull apart. But while we’re waiting for the final results, I want people to know we are not waiting to get to work done and start the process.
Yesterday, Senator Harris and I held meetings with groups of experts on the public health and economic crises this country is facing. The pandemic as you know is is getting more worrisome all across the country.
Daily cases are skyrocketing, and it is now believed that we could see spikes as many as 200,000 cases in a single day. The death toll is approaching 240,000 lives lost to this virus. That’s 240,000 empty chairs at the kitchen tables and dining tables across America.
We’ll never be able to measure all the pain, the loss, and the suffering so many families have experienced. I know how it feels to lose someone, and I want them to know they’re not alone. Our hearts break with you.
And I want everyone to know on Day One, we are going to put our plan to control this virus into action. We can’t save any of the lives that have been lost, but we can save a lot of lives in the months ahead.
Senator Harris and I also heard yesterday about how this recovery is slowing because of the failure to get the pandemic under control. More than 20 million people are on unemployment. Millions are worried about making rent and putting food on the table. Our economic plan will put a focus on a path to a strong recovery.
We both know tensions can be high after a tough election, the one like we’ve had. But we need to remember, we need to remain calm, patient, and let the process work out as we count all the votes.
You know, we’re proving again what we have proved for 244 years in this country: democracy works. Your vote will be counted. I don’t care how hard people try to stop it. I will not let it happen. People will be heard. Our journey toward a more perfect union, and it keeps moving on.
In America we hold strong views, we have strong disagreements, and that’s OK. Strong disagreements are inevitable in a democracy, and strong disagreements are healthy. They’re a sign of vigorous debate, of deeply held views.
But we have to remember: the purpose of our politics isn’t total, unrelenting, unending warfare. No. The purpose of our politics, the work of the nation, isn’t to fan the flames of conflict, but to solve problems, to guarantee justice, to give everybody a fair shot, to improve the lives of our people.
We may be opponents – but we are not enemies. We are Americans.
No matter who you voted for, I’m certain of one thing: The vast majority of the 150 million Americans, they want to get the vitriol out of our politics. We’re certainly not going to agree on a lot of the issues, but we can at least agree to be civil to one another. Let’s put the anger and the demonisation behind us.
It’s time for us to come together as a nation and heal. It’s not gonna be easy, but we have to try.
My responsibility as president will be to represent the whole nation. And I want you to know that I will work as hard for those who voted against me as for those who voted for me. That’s the job. That’s the job. It’s called a duty of care, for all Americans.
We have serious problems to deal with — Covid, the economy, racial justice, climate change. We don’t have any more time to waste on partisan warfare. And more than that, we have such an incredible opportunity to build the future we want for our kids and grandkids.
I’ve said it many, many times: I’ve never been more optimistic about the future of our nation. There is no reason we can’t own the 21st century. We just need to remember who we are. This is the United States of America, and there has never been anything, anything we’ve been unable to do when we’ve done it together.
I hope to be talking to you tomorrow. I want to thank you all. May God bless you all, and may God protect our troops.
