In a newly released audio recording, campaign staff for former US president Donald Trump can be heard planning to “fan the flame” by promoting election fraud claims in Wisconsin following the 2020 presidential election, despite acknowledging defeat. In the audio from November 5, 2020, obtained by Associated Press, Andrew Iverson, the head of Trump’s campaign in the state, can be heard speaking to other Republican operatives in a meeting. “Here’s the drill: Comms is going to continue to fan the flame and get the word out about Democrats trying to steal this election. We’ll do whatever they need our help with. Just be on standby in case there’s any stunts we need to pull,” Iverson says in the recording. Iverson talks about promoting baseless election fraud conspiracy theories despite admitting in another part of the recording that Trump had lost the key battleground state. “At the end of the day, this operation received more votes than any other Republican in Wisconsin history. And it wasn’t even close,” Iverson says. “Say what you want, our operation turned out Republican or DJT supporters. Democrats just got 20,000 more than us, out of Dane County and other shenanigans in Milwaukee, Green Bay, and Dane. There’s a lot that people can learn from this campaign.” Trump won Wisconsin in 2016, but Joe Biden beat him in 2020 by nearly 21,000 votes. Non-partisan audits and reviews have since confirmed the results. The audio provides insight into the inner workings of the Trump campaign and the disconnect between their private conversations about the election and public allegations about election fraud. The audio was given to Associated Press by a former campaign official and Republican operative who attended the meeting and recorded it. They have remained anonymous out of fear of retaliation but said they had chosen to share it because of Trump’s third presidential run. When asked by Associated Press about the recording, Iverson, now the Midwest regional director for the Republican National Committee, referred the outlet to RNC spokesman Keith Schipper. Schipper declined to comment, claiming he had not listened to the clip. Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said: “The 2024 campaign is focused on competing in every state and winning in a dominating fashion. That is why president Trump is leading by wide margins in poll after poll.” At another point in the recorded meeting, the group discusses and laughs about Republican outreach efforts to black voters in the state and needing “more black voices for Trump.” Trump sues Bob Woodward for nearly US$50 million over interview recordings “We ever talk to black people before? I don’t think so,” Iverson says, sparking laughter from others, according to Associated Press. Meanwhile, Republican operative Clayton Henson praises the Democratic campaign for high voter turnout in Dane County, a liberal stronghold in the state. “Hats off to them for what they did in Dane County. You gotta respect that,” Henson says, according to Associated Press. “There’s going to be another election in a couple years. So remember the lessons you learned and be ready to punch back.” Henson also declined to comment on the meeting to Associated Press. Read the original article on Business Insider .