Getty US President Donald Trump speaks to the press as he departs the White House in Washington, DC, on October 30, 2020.
On Wednesday morning after Election Day, Donald Trump suggested foul play at work in the ballot counting for the presidential election, despite having no proof for such an accusation.
“Last night I was leading, often solidly, in many key States, in almost all instances Democrat run & controlled,” Trump tweeted a few hours after several swing states, including Wisconsin and Michigan, flipped in Joe Biden’s favor. “Then, one by one, they started to magically disappear as surprise ballot dumps were counted. VERY STRANGE, and the ‘pollsters’ got it completely & historically wrong!”
Trump added in a subsequent tweet, “How come every time they count Mail-In ballot dumps they are so devastating in their percentage and power of destruction?”
There have been no reports of “surprise ballot dumps.” The continued counting of votes overnight was not a “surprise.” Rather, the votes have been counted as expected in these states, with mail-in ballots being counted after ballots cast in-person on Election Day. Since mail-in ballots came mostly from Democratic voters, it has been expected that Biden would surge back into a competitive position once those ballots were processed.
Here’s what you need to know:
Trump Falsely Claimed Victory in the Election Early on Wednesday Morning
Donald Trump Twitter
At around one in the morning on Wednesday, Trump falsely claimed he “won” the election. To supporters in the White House East Room, Trump said, “We will win this, and as far as I’m concerned, we already have won it.”
Trump also took to Twitter, writing, “We are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election. We will never let them do it. Votes cannot be cast after the Polls are closed!”
Twitter censored the tweet, warning users: “Some or all of the content shared in this Tweet is disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process.”
Trump’s comments drew criticism from even the staunchest of conservatives. Right-wing talk show host Ben Shapiro tweeted, “No, Trump has not already won the election, and it is deeply irresponsible for him to say he has.”
There Has Been No Proof of Any Foul Play Taking Place Throughout the Vote Counting Process
@pattonoswalt @MSNBC @CNN @FoxNews Tapper wasn’t having it
In the last 24 hours, as votes have slowly been tallied, there have been no verified reports of any sort of tampering or foul play taking place with these ballots. With that said, some of the margins of victory for swing states could happen within the realm of recount claims. The Trump campaign has already indicated it might request a recount in Wisconsin, which indicated a slight lead for Biden on Wednesday morning.
“Wisconsin, that’s recount territory,” a Trump campaign spokesperson said on Wednesday, per Politico reporter Gabby Orr.
As for the Biden campaign, the team has consistently indicated trust in the process and encouraged Americans to have patience while every vote is counted. In response to Trump’s suggestion that he might take the election results to the Supreme Court, a Biden spokesperson said, via NPR, “If the president makes good on his threat to go to court to try to prevent the proper tabulation of votes, we have legal teams standing by ready to deploy to resist that effort. And they will prevail.”