Trump falsely alleges fraud, says he's 'going to the U.S. Supreme Court' to stop ballot counting

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

published 4 November 2020

President Trump prematurely declared victory from the White House early Wednesday, claiming falsely he has won several states he has not won and saying he will ask the courts to stop mail-in ballots from being counted. "We'll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court," he said. "We want all voting to stop. We don't want them to find any ballots at 4 in the morning and add them to the list."

Democrat Joe Biden is in pretty good shape in the outstanding swing states, based on ballots supposed to be counted Wednesday morning and later in the morning. Many of the outstanding votes are mail-in ballots, tilted toward Demcorats. But the partial counted show Trump ahead, and while Trump had denied reports he would claim victory if he appeared to be ahead on election night, that is exactly what he did.

"Trump claiming a victory he never won, and saying he will take it to the Supreme Court," presidential historian Michael Beschloss tweeted. "This is what dictators do. Stop." New York Times columnist David Brooks called this "the nightmare scenario we were worried about." Even Trump's allies were leery. "No, Trump has not already won the election, and it is deeply irresponsible for him to say he has," tweeted conservative commentator Ben Shapiro.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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