Donald Trump Electoral Votes Vs. Popular Votes: FEC Asks For Evidence Of Fraud
Donald Trump’s electoral votes turned out to be historic for the real estate mogul, who surprised many by defeating a political veteran like Hillary Clinton. Trump won the Electoral College with 304 votes, while Clinton managed to get only 227 votes. However, Trump is apparently not happy with the entire electoral process. He claimed that he had lost New Hampshire due to voter fraud. Now, a member of the Federal Election Commission has asked Trump to provide evidence to back his claim.
Trump talked about the voter fraud in a closed-door meeting with senators. He started talking about it in the presence of former New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte. According to the U.S. president, Ayotte lost the reelection bid due to voter fraud. Trump claimed that, if there was no voter fraud, he and Ayotte would have won the elections. He blamed it on thousands of illegal voters, who came from Massachusetts to vote in New Hampshire.
Donald Trump’s electoral votes fell 3000 short of Hillary Clinton’s, while Ayotte suffered an even narrower defeat. She lost by 743 votes. As soon as Trump talked about it in the meeting, there was “an uncomfortable silence,” according to a participant. In the meeting, the president apparently teased Ayotte by telling her that she would have won if she had been on “his train,” Politico reported.
Trump also talked about a recent incident in the Senate, where Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren was silenced during a debate. Senator Warren was not allowed to read out a letter by Coretta Scott King. The widow of Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in the 1986 letter why Jeff Sessions should not be elected as the District Judge. Warren tried to use the letter as an evidence against Sessions’ racist past. The senator was, however, not allowed to speak and silenced under the chamber regulation Rule 19. Trump used the moniker “Pocahontas” for Warren and said he was happy that Warren was becoming the face of the Democratic Party.
Even though Donald Trump’s electoral votes made him the president, he lost the popular vote by almost 3 million votes. As he continues to talk about voter fraud, he seems to consider himself as a victim of the fraud, even though he still managed to become the U.S. president. Earlier, he claimed that around 5 million people voted illegally in the U.S. presidential elections in November last year. However, he has not initiated any investigation into the said voter fraud, even though he promised to do so.
This time, his claims about the voter fraud are apparently challenged by FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub. In a statement, she has asked the president for evidence.
“As a Commissioner on the Federal Election Commission, I am acutely aware that our democracy rests on the faith of the American people in the integrity of their elections,” Weintraub said in the statement. “I therefore call upon President Trump to immediately share his evidence with the public and with the appropriate law-enforcement authorities so that his allegations may be investigated promptly and thoroughly.”
“Allegations of this magnitude cannot be ignored.”
Serious voter fraud in Virginia, New Hampshire and California – so why isn’t the media reporting on this? Serious bias – big problem!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 28, 2016
Donald Trump’s electoral votes made him the president, even though he lost the popular votes. This happened only the fourth time in the history of the United States. Trump claimed on Twitter that he had won the popular votes “if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally.” “Serious voter fraud in Virginia, New Hampshire, and California – so why isn’t the media reporting on this?” he wrote.
“Serious bias – big problem!”
Donald Trump’s electoral votes did not pose any problem. It was the popular votes which still haunt the president. Now that Weintraub has asked for evidence, it’ll be interesting to see if the U.S. president builds a strong case in his favor.
[Featured Image by Evan Vucci/AP Images]
