The president emerged from his post-election silence to assert, without evidence, that state election officials are rigging vote tallies.
President Donald Trump on Thursday evening listed a string of unfounded conspiracy theories to accuse state election officials of plotting to steal the election from him.
Taking the White House lectern for his first public address since election night, Trump offered no evidence for his assertions that officials are rigging the tallies or for his characterization of mail-in ballots as somehow illegitimate. The address came as his Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, expands his lead to secure the presidency and as Trump’s path to a second term hinges on winning four key states. Those states have yet to finish counting their ballots amid an unprecedented number of mail-in voting because of the coronavirus pandemic.
State elections officials have assured voters that this year’s election was hardly the chaos many feared due to Covid-19. Despite the occasional technical glitch and extended polling-site hours, there were no reports of major issues or interference. Though counting is taking longer this year, there is no support for the position that mailed-in ballots were part of a mass fraud.
Trump’s Thursday address immediately met with stern condemnation from his critics — including those in his own party. Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland tweeted that “there is no defense for the President‘s comments tonight undermining our Democratic process.“ Former Sen. Jeff Flake, whose home state of Arizona flipped for Biden this year, tweeted: “No Republican should be okay with the President‘s statements just now. Unacceptable. Period.“
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President Trump today listed a string of unfounded conspiracy theories to accuse state election officials of plotting to steal the election from him https://t.co/PQbrpcFT3R pic.twitter.com/uXL59qGbq8
— POLITICO (@politico) November 6, 2020This press conference right here vindicates every Never Trumper charge over the past four years more than anything we ever said until this moment. This is his hatred of democracy, his disrespect for the rule of law, and his loathing of the constitution on full display.
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) November 5, 2020
Dear congressional Republicans:
Now would be a good time to step up and say that you won't stand for these dangerous attacks on American democracy. Silence is complicity.
— Miranda Yaver (@mirandayaver) November 6, 2020
now let’s hear from the other several hundred elected Republicans in this country https://t.co/5KvNiYAXGD
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) November 6, 2020
Best moment so far is when Trump said Pennsylvania Democrats have allowed ballots to be received “three days after the election and we think much more than that.”
Today is Thursday. It’s only two days after the election.
— Ken Gude (@KenGude) November 6, 2020
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) November 6, 2020
I know you all appreciate my tweeting of these things, but @ddale8 is the dean of the press conference observer corps, and this is saying some thing right here: https://t.co/exrLW6VtYS
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) November 6, 2020
Tapper: But frankly, watching him flail like this is just pathetic pic.twitter.com/DUVbuHSXWD
— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) November 6, 2020
100000 https://t.co/ev6Qaa8gbS
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) November 6, 2020
I mean, if you spend all your time around people who won't believe a word of what Trump just said, good for you. But that's not the real world. 70 million people just voted for a man who insists that our elections are rigged. Many of those people will believe him. It's harrowing.
— Tim Alberta (@TimAlberta) November 6, 2020
Keep in mind Trump is reading his speech from a prepared text, which presumably means that a number of aides helped him compose this litany of lies and attacks on the integrity of America’s democracy.
— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) November 6, 2020
Squeaky wants a coup. https://t.co/hJQkCzjU55
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) November 6, 2020
Totally agree. https://t.co/ZzLUjDvFUg
— David French (@DavidAFrench) November 6, 2020
Statement from @BenSasse: “It’s pretty simple: Millions of Americans voted in a peaceful election and there’s not a winner until all the legally cast votes are counted.”
— Declan Garvey (@declanpgarvey) November 6, 2020
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) November 6, 2020
There is no defense for the President’s comments tonight undermining our Democratic process. America is counting the votes, and we must respect the results as we always have before. No election or person is more important than our Democracy. https://t.co/BOO2iaTsEf
— Larry Hogan (@LarryHogan) November 6, 2020
That was a very low energy, pathetic (and yet still dangerous) festival of conspiracy theories and lies. He reaffirmed five long years of opposition to his dreadful demagoguery with every syllable.
— David French (@DavidAFrench) November 6, 2020
Good for the @nypost https://t.co/6Kbsx5xH5n
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) November 6, 2020
A sitting president undermining our political process & questioning the legality of the voices of countless Americans without evidence is not only dangerous & wrong, it undermines the very foundation this nation was built upon. Every American should have his or her vote counted.
— Rep. Will Hurd (@HurdOnTheHill) November 6, 2020
At the end of every episode of The Apprentice would come a moment when a contestant, realizing he’s getting fired, would start ranting or begging to stay.
Tonight’s press conference was that moment. https://t.co/ihZsIiRQjr
— Adam White (@adamjwhitedc) November 6, 2020
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