As anxiety heightened across the world over the likely successor of Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump said he was confident of victory after casting his vote in Palm Beach, Florida.
However, polls show the race between him and Kamala Harris is virtually tied.
The 78-year-old was accompanied by wife Melania, who kept her sunglasses on as her husband took questions from reporters with just hours until the polls close in what could be one of the closest elections in history.
She answered one short question about how she was feeling: ‘Very good. Thank you.’
…Worries over chaos at polling stations
Trump, wearing his signature ‘Make America Great Again’ hat, answered many questions and highlighted reports of chaos at the polling stations around the nation. He also wore an ‘I voted’ sticker.
‘It is crazy,’ the former president said. ‘I am just hearing in certain states it is going to be a long time.’
He specifically mentioned Pennsylvania, the battleground state that could decide the winner. Polls show the race there is tied. There have also been reports of problems scanning ballots in Cambria and Bedford counties, two of the most-Republican counties in the state.
‘I’m hearing in Pennsylvania they won’t have an answer until two or three days from now. I think it’s an absolute outrage if that’s the case,’ Trump noted. ‘In certain states it is going to be a long time and it won’t even be close. It won’t be that close. They say I will win the state but it will take a long time to certify it.’
…Expresses confidence
He argued if more Republicans than Democrats voted he should be declared the winner. There is no way to know if Republicans voted for him or an alternative.
‘It looks like we have a very substantial lead. It looks like we have many more Republicans voting today than Democrats. If you have a lead and we have a bigger vote that means you are doing very well. They have to call a winner. And they should call a winner, yes,’ he said.
..Ready to concede in a fair contest
But he said he would concede if he lost a ‘fair’ election.
‘If it’s a fair election I would be the first one to acknowledge it if I lost. And so far I think it’s been fair,’ he said. Trump, on the campaign trail, has indicated he doesn’t trust the voting process and could challenge the results if Harris wins.
‘I ran a great campaign. I think it was maybe the best of the three. We did great in the first one, much better in the second one. Something happened. And this was the best – I would say this was the best campaign we ran,’ he said.
Trump conceded no matter the result of the presidential race it would be his last campaign.
‘I would think so,’ he said, adding he feels ‘sad and very fulfilled.’
‘I would think we are going to have a very big victory today,’ Trump noted.
…Slams Oprah Winfrey
The former president also slammed Oprah Winfrey for endorsing Harris, saying he has been on her show and ‘she has been to Mar-a-Lago many times.’
After they voted the couple swung by Trump’s campaign headquarters to thank his staff and asked them to make sure there was no ‘cheating’ happening on Election Day.
‘You are going to be watching. They’re watching to make sure there is no cheating, right. No cheating,’ he said.
He also sounded confident of a victory.
‘Over the country – I hear it’s all red,’ he said. ‘We went in with a very big lead. We just have to keep it. I hear it’s beyond that. It’s a movement. There hasn’t been a movement like this. We will turn this country around.’
…Melania thanks the staff
Trump’s wife, Melania, said to the staff: ‘A great job. Thank you so much for your support. It was hard work, I know. It’s hours to hours. I know how hard my husband is working. Nonstop. Thank you for all of your support. Great job.’
The first lady made few appearances on the campaign trail.
There appears to be heavy voter interest across the country with long lines seen at polling stations throughout the nation. Counting the votes will extend beyond election night on Tuesday and it’s unclear when there will be a final result.
In the 2020 presidential race it took four days to declare a winner. Regardless, Trump has baselessly claimed that if he lost, it would be due to fraud.
The former president will spend the day at his Mar-a-Lago estate in advance of a party at a nearby convention center.
…Legal issues around Trump’s voting status
Trump opted to vote in person on Tuesday. Figures from the Division of Elections showed that 50% of Floridians voted early by mail.
Trump can legally vote even though he is a convicted felon.
The former president was convicted this year in New York State Court of falsifying records.
The state of Florida generally forbids felons from voting until they have served out sentence or had their voting rights restored through the State Clemency Board.
But those rules do not apply to Trump as Florida law also stipulates that those convicted out of state are beholden to the voting laws of the state in which they were convicted.
New York State law allows felons to vote as long as they are not incarcerated. Therefore Trump can vote in Florida.
Trump is scheduled to be sentenced in New York on November 26 and could face probation or up to four years in prison.
…The last rally
The former president held the last rally of his campaign in Grand Rapids, Mich., in the early hours of Tuesday morning, after spending the day on the campaign trail.
Taking the stage shortly after midnight, Trump went on a rant against Harris, saying ‘nobody lies like this Kamala’ and calling her a ‘very low IQ person.’
His comments came on a day the Harris campaign made a point of noting she hadn’t mentioned Trump’s name on the trail.
Trump falsely claimed Harris had only a few hundred people at her rally, even though she drew thousands Monday.
Harris made her closing argument with a rally in Philadelphia. She spent Monday making multiple stops in the critical swing state of Pennsylvania.
Harris and Trump entered Election Day focused on seven battleground states, five of them carried by Trump in 2016 before flipping to Joe Biden in 2020: the ‘blue wall’ of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin as well as Arizona and Georgia.
Nevada and North Carolina, which Democrats and Republicans respectively carried in the last two elections, also were closely contested.
Trump, 78, would be the oldest president ever elected. He would also be the first defeated president in 132 years to win another term in the White House, and the first person convicted of a felony to take over the Oval Office.(Additional reports from Dailymail)