Trump urges courts to block all vote-counting well beyond next Tuesday
President contends he is leading in Michigan and Wisconsin, despite list of polls that give Joe Biden a healthy lead
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump is urging federal courts to block any vote-counting by states that intend to tally ballots well beyond Election Day as he continues his assault on mass mail-in voting just days before he faces voters for perhaps the final time.
“Hopefully, the states that want to take a lot of time after November 3rd, that won’t be allowed by the courts,” the president said at an unplanned event with business sector representatives in Las Vegas, ahead of two campaign rallies in hotly contested battleground Arizona.
Mr Trump trails nationally by around 7 percentage points, according to an average of several polls by RealClearPolitics, a narrowing of the race coast-to-coast. He remains within striking distance in most battlegrounds, including Arizona, where he is headed, trailing Democratic nominee Joe Biden by 2.4 percentage points.
He spoke about the election after Nevada business leaders heaped praised on his term and his handling of the coronavirus, contending his campaign’s polls show him “up, even or really close” in “all of the states we’re talking about,” meaning the six or eight battleground states experts say will decide the election.
The president contended his campaign’s internal polls show him up 1 point in Wisconsin and 2 points in Michigan.
By contrast, RealClear’s averages put Mr Biden up in both: 6.4 points and 8.6 points, respectively.
But Mr Trump contends the public polling and that of his campaign mirror what both showed in 2016, when he shocked the world by winning in states like Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and others that polls and experts believed Hillary Clinton would take easily.
Political strategists on both sides of the aisle contacted this week said they are reluctant to predict the outcome of a race that is so close in so many swing states – and will a possible court challenge ahead.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments