Trump campaign vows to request recount in Wisconsin
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.
Subscribe to 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,
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
-
Why ghost guns are so easy to make — and so dangerous
The Explainer Untraceable, DIY firearms are a growing public health and safety hazard
By David Faris Published
-
The Week contest: Swift stimulus
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
'It's hard to resist a sweet deal on a good car'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Top Russian general killed in Moscow blast
Speed Read A remote-triggered bomb killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
NATO chief urges Europe to arm against Russia
Speed Read Mark Rutte said Putin wants to 'wipe Ukraine off the map' and might come for other parts of Europe next
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New Syria government takes charge, urging 'stability'
Speed Read The rebel forces that ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad announced an interim government
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Russia's shadow war in Europe
Talking Point Steering clear of open conflict, Moscow is slowly ratcheting up the pressure on Nato rivals to see what it can get away with.
By The Week UK Published
-
South Korea roiled by short-lived martial law
Speed Read President Yoon Suk Yeol's imposition of martial law was a 'clear violation of the constitution,' said the opposition parties who have moved to impeach him
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Syrian rebels seize Aleppo in surprise offensive
Speed Read The rebels made gains against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and reignited Syria's 13-year-old civil war
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published