Fear of election manipulation "Trump is not losing"

Sometimes Donald Trump says he doesn't need any more votes because he has enough. Sometimes he says people should vote for him now - for the last time. There is growing fear in the USA that the 78-year-old will torpedo the election.

"This was really a coup by the Democrats," said Donald Trump on July 27 during a campaign appearance in St. Cloud in the US state of Minnesota. "That was a coup on a man who had 14 million votes."

The ex-president is of course talking about Joe Biden's withdrawal from the race for the White House. "He wanted to run. They wouldn't let him run. They treated him terribly. They said to him: we can do this the nice way or the hard way."

According to the report, the party colleagues threatened the 81-year-old with the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, according to which a president can be removed from office if he is no longer able to carry out his duties. "He was forced to resign."

Trump of all people speaks of "coup" against Biden

On the one hand, it is an irony of history that the man who sparked the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, is now complaining about a supposed coup by his political opponent. On the other hand, Trump may already be laying the foundations to contest the result if the 78-year-old loses the election on November 5.

At least that is what Trump's statements on August 8 suggest: "The presidency was taken from Joe Biden," he told the press at his luxury Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. "From a constitutional standpoint, from any standpoint you take: He had the right to run. And they took it away from him."

Trump knows "exactly" what went on behind closed doors with the Democrats, he said. "Because I know a lot of people on the other side, believe it or not." The process was "pretty violent" and "terrible": "You would have thought there would be a primary [over the candidacy]. It's a very bad thing when a country does that."

"Trump is not losing"

"The Bulwark" also warns that "a whole army of Republicans" are ready to "block certification of the election at the local level". The Democrats winning won't happen - "because Trump isn't losing": "There's no need to worry about chaos on January 6, 2025, when Congress convenes. The election doubters' plan is to stop a result immediately if it looks like Harris is going to win."

This means that not only results in which the Democrats win need to be doubted - this should also happen in regions in which Trump wins. The count in the state would then be stopped, which would make it impossible for the electors to choose the president.

This is possible because the Republicans in swing states such as Arizona, Pennsylvania and Georgia have appointed election doubters to key positions in the administration, who are responsible for the election at district level. According to "Rolling Stone", 70 people are involved who are supposed to prevent an unwanted election result in November.

"Mass refusals" expected

"I think we're going to see mass refusals to certify the election," predicts Democrat lawyer Marc Elias and warns: "What we're seeing in this election is that the other side is more organized, more ruthless and better prepared." "The Bulwark" even sees a constitutional crisis looming.

The Guardian takes the same line : Trump is better prepared for a possible defeat than he was in 2020, they write. This is also due to Christina Bobb, who is responsible for the Republicans' conduct of the election, but does not recognize Joe Biden's victory four years ago. She is even in trouble with the courts over this.

According to the Guardian, the Republicans want to bring no fewer than 100,000 election observers into play, who could potentially torpedo the count. The procedure is already being practised, the NGO Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) states in a new report.

"You will no longer have to vote"

The report is entitled "Threats to Election Certification" and states that since 2020, over 30 election officials have either refused to certify ballots or have delayed the count. False claims of fraud have often been made.

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Fears that the election will not run smoothly are being fueled by Trump himself: For weeks now, he has repeatedly sounded like he doesn't even need any more votes, he's had enough of them.

On July 26, the 78-year-old even said in West Palm Beach, Florida: "Christians, go out and vote. Just this time. You won't have to do it again - four more years. It will be settled then, it will be good. You won't have to vote again, my beautiful Christians."

So the last word will probably still not be spoken on the night of November 5-6: One must assume so.