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.
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,
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.
-
US offers Ukraine NATO-like security pact, with caveatsSpeed Read The Trump administration has offered Ukraine security guarantees similar to those it would receive from NATO
-
Hong Kong court convicts democracy advocate LaiSpeed Read Former Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai was convicted in a landmark national security trial
-
Australia weighs new gun laws after antisemitic attackSpeed Read A father and son opened fire on Jewish families at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing at least 15
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Benin thwarts coup attemptSpeed Read President Patrice Talon condemned an attempted coup that was foiled by the West African country’s army
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned



