Democrats Say They're Ready if Trump Prematurely Claims Victory

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Facts

  • Campaign staff for Kamala Harris and officials from the Democratic National Committee have told Reuters they're prepared for a quick response on social media and traditional media should former Pres. Donald Trump repeat his 2020 action of prematurely declaring victory.[1]
  • Trump recently told reporters he's targeting Election Day for his victory celebration, although analysts have suggested that it will likely take several days to tabulate the final results, as it did four years ago.[1]
  • Major media outlets have historically made the call on national elections after analyzing vote counts provided by election workers.[1]
  • Harris recently described Trump as "capable of anything" as it relates to challenging the results of the 2024 election. She said her campaign is "sadly, ready" to combat what she called Trump's potential "manipulating" of the press and the American people.[2]
  • Four years since the last presidential election, Trump still often claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him. He has also often claimed that Democrats are allowing noncitizens to vote against him in the 2024 election.[3]
  • Trump declared victory on Election Day 2020, but the following Saturday, Joe Biden was declared the winner. Sometimes results can be delayed because swing states Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Georgia don't count mail-in ballots until Election Day.[3][4]

Sources: [1]US News & World Report, [2]ABC News, [3]NBC and [4]The Hill.

Narratives

  • Democratic narrative, as provided by The Washington Post and POLITICO. Democrats have to be prepared because of what Trump did on and after Election Day 2020 and what he's been saying during his current campaign. Republicans have succeeded in forming an online army of election deniers ready to issue unsubstantiated and utterly baseless claims of election fraud. And a number of would-be electors for Trump in battleground states are election deniers, some of whom are facing criminal charges. This is a dangerous time.
  • Republican narrative, as provided by PJ Media and PJ Media. Democrats haven't done enough to assure election integrity and are always in court trying to usurp election laws. Luckily, the US Supreme Court has brought some common sense to the table. But that doesn't change the fact that US election systems are vulnerable, particularly to hackers, and there's too much smoke about election fraud for there not to be some fires. Republicans will handle the situation accordingly, even if Trump has to declare victory early based on incoming tallies.