By Jarrett Renshaw and Gram Slattery
(Reuters) – Democrats are readying a rapid-fire response to flood social media and the airwaves with requires calm and endurance with vote-counting ought to Donald Trump attempt to prematurely declare election victory, as he did in 2020, Harris marketing campaign and occasion officers instructed Reuters.
The Republican candidate instructed reporters this week that he hoped to have the ability to declare victory on Election Day, though election specialists have cautioned that it might take a number of days for the ultimate consequence to be identified, particularly if there are calls for for vote recounts in some key areas. Trump is locked in a razor-thin race with Democratic rival Kamala Harris.
U.S. election winners are usually declared by main media shops who analyze vote counts supplied by election officers. Whereas candidates typically declare victory earlier than these calls are made, it’s uncommon to take action earlier than the winner is a minimum of arguably obvious.
“We are sadly ready if he does and, if we know that he is actually manipulating the press and attempting to manipulate the consensus of the American people … we are prepared to respond,” Harris mentioned in an interview with ABC on Wednesday.
She gave no particulars of these preparations, however six Democratic Celebration and Harris marketing campaign officers mentioned the preliminary struggle towards any early Trump victory declare would happen within the courtroom of public opinion. They plan to flood social media and tv airwaves with calls for that each one votes be counted earlier than victories are declared.
“As soon as he (Trump) falsely declares victory, we’re ready to get up on TV and provide the truth and tap a broad network of people who can use their influence to push back,” a prime official with the Democratic Nationwide Committee mentioned in an interview.
A senior Harris marketing campaign official mentioned in a convention name with reporters on Friday they “fully expect” that Trump will falsely declare victory on Tuesday evening, earlier than all of the votes are totally counted.
“He did this before it failed. If he does it again, it will fail,” the official mentioned.
In 2020, Trump declared himself the winner within the early morning hours after Election Day, three days earlier than the primary tv networks made a name. He finally misplaced to his Democratic opponent Joe Biden. He has by no means accepted the consequence and continues to falsely assert that it was stolen from him via widespread fraud.
Steve Bannon, a key Trump ally, mentioned Trump ought to rapidly declare victory.
“He should stand up and say, ‘Hey, I’ve won this,'” Bannon instructed a New York Occasions reporter on Tuesday, shortly after being launched from a federal jail, the place he served 4 months for defying congressional subpoenas on the Jan. 6, 2021 assaults on the U.S. Capitol.
The Trump marketing campaign instructed Reuters that the Republican candidate would struggle for all votes till the polls shut, nevertheless it didn’t straight reply a query about whether or not Trump deliberate to once more declare victory earlier than the race was referred to as.
One Trump donor, Invoice Bean, who has at instances been vital of the previous president, instructed Reuters he hopes both Harris or Trump win by broad margins, in order that the outcomes are as broadly accepted as doable.
NO REPUBLICAN FIREWALL
In 2020, Trump’s victory declaration was met with condemnation from Democrats and plenty of high-profile Republicans. Markets reacted with a shrug, with main inventory indices climbing modestly within the days after the election.
However this time may very well be totally different.
The previous president has consolidated near-total management of the Republican Celebration within the intervening years, that means many influential conservatives may very well be extra keen to associate with his claims, a number of political strategists mentioned.
“We’ve seen plenty of evidence that he is in complete control of the party … and we’ve seen no evidence that party officials or elected officials will push back,” mentioned Chip Felkel, a long-time Republican strategist who’s vital of Trump.
Trump and his Republican allies have additionally spent months laying the groundwork for contesting a loss by claiming that non-citizens might attempt to vote for the Democratic Celebration and by readying a military of legal professionals to go to courtroom to problem outcomes.
At his rallies, Trump typically says they want to ensure their win is “too big to rig.”
(This story has been refiled to repair grammar in paragraph 18)
