Pence, absent from Trump's press conference, tweets his support from afar


Vice President Mike Pence wasn't at President Trump's White House press conference on Thursday evening, but he approved of his message.
Trump made multiple baseless claims about the election, including that Democrats are trying to "steal" it. He said that "legal votes" are in his favor and Democrats are relying on "illegal votes." Pence later echoed Trump's comments on Twitter, saying, "I stand with President @realDonaldTrump. We must count every LEGAL vote."
Based on Trump's remarks, it appears as though the president considers mail-in ballots to be "illegal votes," even though they are perfectly legal. Each state has different rules for mail-in ballots — in California, for example, as long as a ballot is postmarked by Nov. 3 and arrives up to 17 days after the election, it will be counted. In Iowa, ballots have to be postmarked no later than Nov. 2 and arrive at county auditor's offices by noon on Nov. 10.
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.
Ahead of the election, Trump railed against mail-in ballots, trying to claim they are tied to voter fraud, and told his supporters to vote for him in person. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, more people requested absentee ballots, and in some cases, states sent ballots to all registered voters. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden backed expanded mail-in voting, and those ballots have been benefiting him in battleground states like Pennsylvania.
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
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Quiz of The Week: 24 – 30 May
Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
The Week Unwrapped: Will Europe beat China and India to the North Pole?
Podcast Plus, is the man who designed the iPhone going to kill his own creation? And what's going on at the equalities watchdog?
-
Is it finally all change for train Wi-Fi?
In The Spotlight South Western Railway's 5G Wi-Fi service has changed the way passengers connect – but will the new system catch on?
-
Starving Gazans overrun US-backed food aid hub
speed read Israeli troops fired warning shots at the Palestinians
-
Israel's Western allies pull back amid Gaza escalation
speed read Britain and the EU are reconsidering allegiance with Israel as the Gaza siege continues
-
Trump drops ceasefire demand after Putin call
speed read Following a phone call with Russia's president, Trump backed off an earlier demand that Putin agree to an immediate ceasefire with Ukraine
-
Pro-EU centrist beats Trump acolyte in Romania vote
speed read The mayor of Bucharest, Nicusor Dan, defeated hard-right nationalist George Simion in the race for Romania's presidency
-
Israel-US 'rift': is Trump losing patience with Netanyahu?
Today's Big Question US president called for an end to Gaza war and negotiated directly with Hamas to return American hostage, amid rumours of strained relations
-
Kurdish PKK militia to disband for Turkey talks
speed read The Kurdistan Workers' Party will disarm after four decades of armed conflict with Turkey, putting an end to 'one of the longest insurgencies in the Middle East'
-
US, China agree to lower tariffs for 90 days
speed read US tariffs will fall to 30% from 145%, while China will cut its tax on US imports to 10% from 125%
-
India strikes Pakistan as tensions mount in Kashmir
speed read Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called it an 'act of war'