Donald Trump vows to press on in Wisconsin despite recount setback
- Recount results announced on Friday in Milwaukee County – the state’s most populous – gave Joe Biden a net gain of 132 votes
- Biden won Milwaukee by more than 20,000 votes, an outcome that is expected to be certified on Tuesday
President Donald Trump isn’t abandoning his drive to overturn the election results in Wisconsin, despite state officials announcing a recount in Milwaukee County had only added to Democrat Joe Biden’s lead.
“The Wisconsin recount is not about finding mistakes in the count, it is about finding people who have voted illegally, and that case will be brought after the recount is over, on Monday or Tuesday,” tweeted Trump on Saturday.
Twitter flagged Trump’s tweet about “many illegal votes” for making a disputed claim about election fraud.
Trump’s promise to bring another legal case in Wisconsin comes after recount results announced on Friday in Milwaukee County – the state’s most populous – gave Biden a net gain of 132 votes, out of nearly 460,000 cast. The Democrat gained 257 votes to Trump’s 125.
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Recounts rarely show more than a small number of vote changes, and the Milwaukee effort was no exception. Biden won the state by more than 20,000 votes, an outcome that is expected to be certified on Tuesday.
Results are expected on Sunday from a recount in Wisconsin’s Dane county, which includes the Democratic-leaning state capital of Madison. The Trump campaign paid US$3 million to the state of Wisconsin for recounts in the two counties.
Trump and his legal team, led by Rudy Giuliani, have made multiple assertions of election fraud on Twitter and while talking to the media. But those allegations have not surfaced in court, where evidence must be presented.
On Friday, a Trump-appointed judge in Pennsylvania made note of that discrepancy in rejecting the president’s attempt to revive a lawsuit seeking to undo the state’s certification of Biden as the winner.
“Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here,” wrote US Circuit Court Judge Stephanos Bibas.
Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis quickly promised an appeal of the decision to the US Supreme Court. Trump echoed that on Saturday, saying “we will appeal!” Another Trump tweet about Pennsylvania was also flagged by Twitter.
Bloomberg News
