Wisconsin isn't yet called, but President Trump's team is ready to go on the offensive.
Trump's campaign team vowed to make an official request for a Wisconsin recount "immediately," The Wall Street Journal reports. With all the votes counted, Wisconsin officials said on Wednesday that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden had pulled ahead in the battleground state Trump won in 2016. Biden leads 49.4 percent to Trump's 48.8 percent, or by about 20,000 votes, a margin slim enough to qualify for a recount, if the narrow lead holds through the certification process.
"The President is well within the threshold to request a recount and we will immediately do so," Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien said, citing without evidence the notion that "irregularities" in some Wisconsin counties call "the validity" of the count into question.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A candidate trailing by less than 1 percent of the winner can request a recount, and Trump's campaign would have to pay about $3 million to cover the costs associated with a recount unless the margin is a quarter of a percentage point or less.
When asked about a potential recount earlier on Wednesday, Biden campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon said "we are going to win Wisconsin, recount or no recount," reports The Hill.
The Trump campaign must wait until 10 days after Election Day to officially request a recount,
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-warTalking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
A tour of Sri Lanka’s beautiful northThe Week Recommends ‘Less frenetic’ than the south, this region is full of beautiful wildlife, historical sites and resorts
-
Crossword: September 14, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Russia slams Kyiv, hits government buildingSpeed Read This was Moscow's largest aerial assault since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022
-
China's Xi hosts Modi, Putin, Kim in challenge to USSpeed Read Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Asian leaders at an SCO summit
-
Russian strike on Kyiv kills 23, hits EU officesSpeed Read The strike was the second-largest since Russia invaded in 2022
-
UN votes to end Lebanon peacekeeping missionSpeed Read The Trump administration considers the UN's Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to be a 'waste of money'
-
Israeli double strike on Gaza hospital kills 20Speed Read The dead include five journalists who worked for The Associated Press, Reuters and Al Jazeera
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
Kyiv marks independence as Russia downplays peaceSpeed Read President Vladimir Putin has no plans to meet with Zelenskyy for peace talks pushed by President Donald Trump
-
Trump halts Gaza visas as Israelis protest warSpeed Read Laura Loomer voiced her concerns over injured Palestinian kids being brought to the US for treatment and a potential 'Islamic invasion'
