Days after telling The New York Times he was “absolutely willing” to accept the midterm results, President Donald Trump questioned in his own words Monday whether the election was “honest,” insisting that early vote “dumps” had made it “impossible to win.”
“Does anybody really believe that this ‘Election’ was honest. How could the Polls be so wrong???” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “Some early voting ‘dumps’ were so large that it was impossible to win, no matter how many people went to vote. It’s all about the machines, which are far more important than the voter!”
Experts had warned before Election Day that Trump might challenge the results. Until Monday, Trump had mostly let others do the talking, resharing posts over the weekend that doubted Democratic vote totals, Forbes reported. Some of those posts questioned late-night vote counts, echoing theories debunked after his 2020 loss to former President Joe Biden. Days before Election Day, the White House’s rapid response account pushed a similar line on overnight vote shifts.
There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in last week’s elections, according to Forbes. The Associated Press reported that plenty of Trump allies accepted the outcome, though some, including Katie Miller, the wife of White House chief of staff Stephen Miller, and far-right activist Laura Loomer, accused Democrats of cheating. Kari Lake also alleged fraud without evidence, drawing a sharp rebuke from former Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer.
One researcher told the AP that Trump’s acceptance of the results may have helped keep fraud claims in check, noting that in past elections he had amplified them. There was also no rush of court challenges after the vote, even though Trump’s Justice Department had prepared for that possibility before Election Day.