Trump stages corrosive attempt to undermine votes as his path to 270 evaporates
By Kevin Liptak and Kaitlan Collins, CNN
Updated 7:56 PM ET, Thu November 5, 2020
(CNN)President Donald Trump staged a corrosive and potentially dangerous attempt at undermining the US election on Thursday, baselessly claiming the presidency was being stolen from underneath him as vote counts showed his path to victory disappearing.
Standing at the White House podium, the President repeated false claims that a count of legally cast ballots would show him winning against former Vice President Joe Biden. He complained that in certain states where he had been leading on election night, tallies have been "whittled down" or have shown his rival leading.
Using the briefing room to espouse baseless claims he is being deprived a second term by fraud, Trump thrust into question the democratic notion of a peaceful transition of power should Biden win. Instead he suggested he would fight in the courts until the election is decided in his favor.
"This is a case where they're trying to steal an election, they're trying to rig an election, and we can't let that happen," Trump said in a dour monotone, providing no evidence and departing the room without answering for his false claims.
The spectacle, though foreshadowed by the President for months, was nevertheless a sign of Trump's unwillingness to cede the White House without a prolonged battle. Even as he complained that his own race had been rigged, Trump used the occasion to trumpet down-ballot wins by Republicans without explaining why those races wouldn't be similarly afflicted by his claims of fraud.
