Democrats’ plan to thwart Trump’s air campaign before the votes are counted.
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ campaign and party officials say Democrats will use a plan to thwart Republican Donald Trump if he tries to claim victory early in the November 5 election, as he did in 2020.
The former US president recently said he hopes to declare victory on Election Day. This comes as experts have warned that the results could be announced within days of the election, especially if there are calls for recounts in key states and regions.
Normally, major media outlets that analyze the vote count will announce the winner of a US election. However, sometimes candidates spontaneously declare victory before the media outlets do, which is unusual if the results do not at least indisputably indicate a candidate’s victory.
“Unfortunately, we are prepared to respond if he does that if we find that he is trying to manipulate the press and the American people,” Harris told ABC on Wednesday.
A senior Democratic National Committee official said: “As soon as Trump falsely declares victory, we are prepared to expose the truth on television and use a network of influential people to neutralize.
A senior Harris campaign official also told reporters on Friday that they “fully expect” Trump to do so on Tuesday night before all the votes are counted. “He has done it before and lost. If he does it again, he will lose again.”
Trump declared himself the winner of the controversial 2020 election in the early hours of the day after the election, three days before the first television networks announced the results. He ultimately lost the race to current US President Joe Biden. Trump never accepted the results and continues to claim that Democrats rigged his vote.
Steve Bannon, a key Trump ally, said the former president should immediately declare victory. He should stand up and say, “Hey, people, I won!” he told The New York Times shortly after his release from federal prison.