Trump on results of US congressional elections: "Does anyone really believe they were fair?"
US President Donald Trump has cast doubt on the integrity of the US congressional elections, in which his Republican Party suffered defeats.
Trump wrote about this on the social media platform Truth Social, according to Censor.NET.
Trump on the mid-term elections
The post appeared six days after the elections, in which the Republicans suffered historic defeats across the country, particularly in party strongholds such as Texas and South Carolina.
"Does anyone really believe that these 'elections' were fair? How could the polls have got it so wrong??? Some instances of vote rigging during early voting were so widespread that it was impossible to win, no matter how many people turned out to vote. It all comes down to the machines, which are far more important than the voters!" — wrote the US leader.
Context
This is not the first time Trump has cast doubt on the results of an election following his own defeat. Following his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, he claimed, without any evidence, that he had lost solely because of widespread fraud. His statements at the time culminated in the storming of the US Capitol on 6 January 2021 by a mob of his supporters.
US mid-term elections
- As a reminder, following the US mid-term elections held on 3 November, the Democratic Party has gained control of both houses of Congress. This amounts to at least 54 seats in the Senate (51 are needed for a majority) and more than 231 seats in the House of Representatives (218 are needed). The results have not yet been finalised.
- In these mid-term elections, the Democrats turned several states that had been Republican for decades ‘blue’; in particular, the results in Texas, Kansas and Southern California reflected this trend.
- The last time a Democrat was elected as a senator from Texas was in 1988, and from Kansas in 1932.
- Against this backdrop, US President Donald Trump said in an interview with the New York Times that he was "prepared to accept the election results" and to work with the Democrats. On his social media platform, Truth Social, he wrote that "he was not on the electoral roll", which is why the Republicans are facing defeat.
- The results of these elections will determine which party controls Congress over the next two years. If the opposition party secures a majority in one or both chambers, it could make it more difficult for the President to pass legislation and exert greater scrutiny over his administration. In this case, the Democrats are pitted against the Republican, Mr Trump.
