Donald Trump assails recount push, claims millions voted illegally

President-elect Donald Trump won a convincing electoral vote victory on November 8, but he is claiming falsely that widespread voter fraud cost him the popular vote.

Mr Trump added he would have won the “so-called popular vote. easily and convincingly” if the USA election was determined that way instead of by the Electoral College. Trump’s claim that he won the Electoral College by a “landslide” also does not hold up as he is projected to win 290 votes to Clinton’s 232 (the winning candidate needs 270 to secure the presidency).

Neither he nor any of his aides has offered any evidence of the “millions” alleged to have voted illegally, nor did Trump explain why he would oppose a recount if illegal voting was such a serious problem. He also tweeted how people should give him a “chance to lead”, now that he is president-elect.

Trump also claimed on Twitter that he would have “won even bigger and more easily” if the USA presidency were determined by the national popular vote as opposed to the Electoral College.

That means it would be up to MI to decide a victor, and the state hasn’t even finished counting its votes more than two weeks after the election.

The Clinton campaign says it is also open to recounts in MI and Pennsylvania, where Mr. Trump also eked out narrow wins.

On Friday, Wisconsin officials said they were moving forward with the first presidential recount in state history.

Marc Elias, general counsel for the Clinton campaign, wrote in an online post on Saturday that the campaign would support Stein’s effort in Wisconsin, where a recount will now take place.

He then cites her concession speech, in which she had said, “We have to accept the results and look to the future”, after it was clear that Trump had won the electoral college.

This morning, Trump fired off a series of tweets in which he reminded Hillary Clinton that she demanded he publicly state he would accept the results of the election.

President-elect Donald Trump narrowly won Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and has a small lead in MI.

President-elect Donald Trump voiced his concerns online tweeting that Clinton had already conceded to him and the results of the recount would not change the election results.

The Clinton camp’s decision puts it at odds with the Obama White House, which has expressed confidence in election results. Stein, who drew 1 percent of the vote nationally, is raising millions of dollars to fund the recounts. In Wisconsin, the request came from Stein and independent candidate Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente, and they will have to cover the costs of the recount. In implying he believes the popular vote was rigged by “millions of people who voted illegally”, Trump is only adding fuel to the argument that an audit of the vote is absolutely necessary.

Despite Trump’s comments, Michigan Republican leaders over the weekend began plotting their response to a possible Stein recount and recruiting volunteers to monitor a statewide examination of paper ballots in 6,300 precincts across the state. “And I think on the surface that’s a little bit weird”.