US elections 2020: Trump accuses Democrats of trying to "steal the election"

Donald Trump spoke at the White House Thursday, November 5.

REUTERS / Carlos Barria

Text by: RFI Follow

9 min

In a speech riddled with unproven allegations - to such an extent that several television channels have chosen to stop the live broadcast of his speech - the American president accused the Democratic camp of trying to "steal the election" from him. whose victory he claims.

Despite Joe Biden's call for calm, the two camps are now at loggerheads as the recounts in Georgia and Pennsylvania laboriously come to an end.

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In a fifteen-minute speech read live at the White House on Thursday at 6:45 p.m. (Washington time), US President Donald Trump posed, without the slightest evidence, the victim of a vast electoral fraud.

He proclaimed himself the winner of the election, clearly out of step with the results increasingly favorable to his Democratic opponent Joe Biden.

At the end of the speech, he even mentioned “ 

 ”.

Extract from Donald Trump's speech

Isolated within his own party in his crusade against a “ 

 ” of the ballot of which he would be the victim, the 45th President of the United States, tired, almost dejected, gave the spectacle of a leader trying to cling awkwardly in power at the twilight of his mandate.

His main statement: “ 

 , ”he said from the White House press room, in an often confused tirade, riddled with approximations and untruths about the count in progress.

The “ 

 ” to which he refers are in fact the postal ballots, more favorable to his opponent, which explains the rise of Biden in the counts in different states.

American televisions cut the speech

While Donald Trump had just said that he would win " 

 " if " 

 " were counted, but that if we included " 

 ", the Democrats could " 

 ", very quickly, the MSNBC channel ceased its live broadcast.

" 

 " blurted out the presenter, Brian Williams.

NBC News and ABC News also interrupted the broadcast of this press conference, which was ultimately not one, since the president left the desk without taking any questions.

For its part, CNN, bête noire of the outgoing president, decided not to cut the microphone to Donald Trump, but its star presenter Jake Tapper followed up with a final conviction of the head of state.

" 

 " he said, lambasting a " 

 " .

The press is not left out in front of the spectacle offered by the former television actor who became a guest of the White House.

Among other examples,

magazine

with this uncompromising message:

“ 

.

"

Editor-in-chief @nicole_carroll on pulling the livestream of President Donald Trump's remarks tonight.

pic.twitter.com/GPrQudnFjj

  USA TODAY (@USATODAY) November 6, 2020

The journal then

the president's

(fact-checking).

Even the conservative newspaper

, which

in this campaign, has dissociated itself from its “ 

 ”.

Trump has lost The New York Post and Murdoch.

https://t.co/xV9s0D4RtH

  Don Winslow (@donwinslow) November 6, 2020

“

 ”Joe Biden tweeted shortly after.

A few hours earlier, the Democratic candidate had said he was certain, in a presidential speech, of his imminent victory.

“ 

 ”he said from Delaware.

“ 

 "

Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona ... those long overdue states

The United States, which was waiting to know the name of the president who will be sworn in on January 20, had its eyes on Pennsylvania, which with its 20 major voters, could end the suspense.

If the former vice-president of Barack Obama wins this industrial state, he will become the 46th American president.

The 20 major voters of this state would indeed allow him to cross the threshold of 270 - the majority of the electoral college - which would propel him to the White House and would make Donald Trump the president of a single term.

Donald Trump's initial election night advance in that state melted as the mailed ballots - 80% in favor of Joe Biden - were counted.

Throughout the day, local officials in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Nevada have been reporting ballot statistics remaining to be counted, fluctuating the time or day they complete the mailed ballots.

Since Wednesday, the gap has narrowed in Georgia.

The end result in this traditionally conservative state had been promised for midday, an unfulfilled commitment.

Unlike Pennsylvania and Georgia, Donald Trump benefits directly, in

, from the extension of the count.

He was catching up with Joe Biden, risking the Democrat losing the 11 top voters AP and Fox News attributed to Joe Biden as early as Tuesday's election night, based on partial results and statistical models, one method usually very safe.

It was there, in Phoenix, that a pro-Trump crowd gathered outside a counting site, shouting " 

 "And" 

 ".

But in the states where Donald Trump was behind Joe Biden, his supporters called " 

 ", Asking to invalidate the ballots not counted on the day of the election, which is however legal - illustration of the opportunist strategy of the Trump camp.

This was particularly the case in Detroit (Michigan).

The Republican president had said in the first post-election night that he had won the election and would bring in the Supreme Court, remaining evasive on the motives.

In reality, his lawyers have taken state justice, depending on the objective sought locally, for example with the threat of requesting a recount in Wisconsin.

Democrats believe the complaints to be unfounded, but depending on the decisions of multiple judges, these appeals could delay the approval of the results by days or weeks.

In Michigan and Georgia, two judges have already dismissed Republican appeals.

(With AFP)

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