Donald Trump claimed the election was a ‘fraud on the American people’ and that he was going to the Supreme Court to stop all vote counting immediately in a White House statement at 2.30am.
He effectively made his own declaration of saying: ‘Frankly we did win this election.’
He set the stage for a titanic struggle with Joe Biden over the millions of ballots which are still to be counted and which might not be fully counted until as late as Friday.
Biden had been first to speak, just after midnight, saying ‘it ain’t over till every vote is counted,’ in an address from Wilmington, Delaware. Trump tweeted immediately to accuse Biden of fraud and say he was ‘winning BIG’ and would make his own statement.
‘Votes cannot be cast after the Poles are closed!’ he tweeted from the White House residence – spelling polls incorrectly, but making clear that the battle will be over late-arriving mail-in ballots. The outcome of the election had effectively ground to a halt just after midnight with Donald Trump on 213 electoral college votes and Joe Biden on 224, and seven battleground states too close to call.
Read More: Trump declares VICTORY and says election process is a ‘fraud’
