(Washington, agencies) Although US President Trump had previously said he would accept the results of the midterm elections, he reversed course after the Republicans suffered a crushing defeat and lost control of both houses of Congress, once again making baseless allegations of “electoral fraud”.
In a social media post on Monday (9 November), Trump asked whether “anybody really believes this ‘election’ was honest” and said the polls were “way off”.
He wrote: “Some early voting “dumps” were so large that it was impossible to win, no matter how many people went to vote. It’s all about the machines, which are far more important than the voter!”
In response, US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said it was no surprise that Trump was resorting to his old tactics and denying the election results again.
Schumer said: “He can whine all he wants, but nothing will stop this inescapable truth: For the last two years of his presidency, Trump will face the largest Democratic congressional majorities in decades, all because he has been an unprecedented failure.”
Trump has alleged electoral fraud in the US on several occasions, most notably after losing to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
However, the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll showed public sentiment in line with the vote. Conducted from 6 to 9 November after the midterm elections, the poll found that only about 32% of Americans approved of Trump’s performance in the White House, close to the record low of 31% in mid-October.
Among those surveyed, only 21% approved of Trump’s handling of the rising cost of living and 25% approved of his management of the economy, while his tough immigration policies had the support of 38%.
