President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is seeking to clarify the president’s tweet where he declared, “STOP THE COUNT.”
After the president made his declaration on Twitter, his campaign adviser Jason Miller sought to clarify. Miller said Trump meant for illegitimate ballots to stop being counted, according to reporters.
“We should not be counting ballots that clearly came in after the election as being completely legitimate until we’ve had time to go through,” Miller said.
He also said that Trump’s tweet is “pointing out” that states “should not be counting ballots that were mailed in or magically appeared in a stack of ballots after Election Day.”
Miller said Trump's "STOP THE COUNT" tweet "is pointing out" states "should not be counting ballots that were mailed in or magically appeared in a stack of ballots after Election Day"
— Meredith Lee (@meredithllee) November 5, 2020
A lot of ballots being counted in Philly rn have been in official custody for days or weeks
Trump campaign is clarifying Trump's 'stop the count' tweet. Apparently that means stop counting *illegal* ballots.
— Ben Riley-Smith (@benrileysmith) November 5, 2020
“We should not be counting ballots that clearly came in after the election as being completely legitimate until we’ve had time to go through…” – @JasonMillerinDC
Trump Campaign officials say Pres Trump’s tweet “Stop the Count!” means only legitimate ballots received by Election Day should be counted, and others set aside. The officials again suspect “magical sacks” of rigged ballots are suddenly showing up and should not be counted.
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) November 5, 2020
Shortly after tweeting “STOP THE COUNT,” Trump wrote on Twitter, “ANY VOTE THAT CAME IN AFTER ELECTION DAY WILL NOT BE COUNTED!”
That tweet was flagged by Twitter, which read, “Some or all of the content shared in this Tweet is disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process.” The flag also read, “Some votes may still need to be counted.”
STOP THE COUNT!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 5, 2020
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1324368202139357186
Shortly before Trump’s tweet, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden tweeted, “Every vote must be counted.”
Additionally, Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris reiterated after Trump’s tweet, “Every single vote must be counted.”
Every vote must be counted. pic.twitter.com/kWLGRfeePK
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 5, 2020
Every single vote must be counted.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 5, 2020
Biden is inching closer to the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency, but the race is still too close and has not been called. Meanwhile, Trump has filed lawsuits and called for recounts.