Trump may prematurely declare himself president, Democrats suggest - Reuters
US presidential candidate Donald Trump (photo: Getty Images)
US presidential candidate Donald Trump may prematurely declare his victory in the election. In this case, Democrats are preparing a quick response, Reuters reports.
Trump told reporters this week that he hopes to declare his victory on election day, even though election experts have warned that it could take several days before the final result is known. This is especially true if some key states call for a recount.
The agency writes that usually the winners of elections in the United States are announced by major media. They analyze the vote counts provided by election officials. And although candidates sometimes declare victory before such publications are made, it is not customary to do so before the winner is at least obvious.
“We are sadly ready if he does and if we know that he is actually manipulating the press and attempting to manipulate the consensus of the American people ... we are prepared to respond,” said Kamala Harris, the Republican's opponent.
She did not disclose details, but six representatives of the Democratic Party and Harris's staff said that the initial fight over any claims of an early Trump victory would take place in the court of public opinion. This means flooding social media and television with demands to recount all votes before the final results are announced.
“As soon as (Trump - ed.) falsely declares victory, we're ready to get up on TV and provide the truth and tap a broad network of people who can use their influence to push back,” a Democratic Party spokesperson said in an interview.
On Friday, a senior Harris campaign official told reporters that they “fully expect” Trump to falsely declare victory on Tuesday night before all the votes are fully counted.
"He did this before it failed. If he does it again, it will fail," the official said.
Reuters recalled that in 2020, Trump declared himself the winner early in the morning after Election Day and three days before the results were reported by the first TV channels. In the end, he lost to his Democratic opponent Joe Biden. Trump has not recognized these results and continues to claim that the votes for him were stolen through large-scale fraud.
US elections
The US presidential election will take place this Tuesday, November 5. They are one of the main events of the year in the world, which will have a direct impact on the further course of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Read more about why the US elections are important for Ukraine in RBC-Ukraine's article.
