Trump declares winner with millions of votes not counted and denounces fraud without evidence
In the end of the vote count, Donald Trump declared himself the winner of this Tuesday's elections in the United States.
He did so first in a brief appearance from the White House early Wednesday morning. And then he repeated it in another appearance on Thursday.
The president said that the Republicans were preparing for a great celebration when the process was stopped and denounced that the Democrats want to "deprive their supporters of their rights."
"This is a fraud to the American people, frankly we won this election. It is a huge fraud to our nation," he insisted, and later warned: "We will go to the Supreme Court."
However, with millions of votes not counting, Trump cannot yet declare himself the winner of the election and there is no evidence of the fraud he denounces.
Earlier, Democratic candidate Joe Biden stated that his team believes it is on track to win the election and asked for patience while the votes continue to be counted.
"This is not over until all the votes are counted," stressed Biden.
"It is not my decision, nor that of Donald Trump, to say who has won, it is a decision of the Americans."
"Outrageous, unprecedented and wrong"
President Trump's words suggest that days of cross statements and possible litigation are coming.
In an official statement, Biden's campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon said the president's remarks are outrageous, unprecedented and incorrect:
"Outrageous because they represent a clear effort to take away democratic rights from American citizens."
"Unprecedented because never before in our history has a president of the United States attempted to deprive Americans of their voice in a national election."
"And wrong because it will not happen. The recount will not stop. It will continue until each duly cast vote is counted. Because that is what our laws require, the laws that protect the constitutional rights of Americans to vote."
And he continued: "Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will defend the right of all Americans to have their vote counted, regardless of who they voted for. And we remain confident that when this process is complete, Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States. ".
For her part, Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was reelected to Congress, described Trump's words as "illegitimate, dangerous and authoritarian."
"Count the votes. Respect the result," she tweeted.
On the Republican side there were also voices that showed concern about the statements.
Rick Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania, said he was "very distraught." "Using the word fraud ... I think it is incorrect," he told the US network CNN.
And Ben Shapiro, a conservative political commentator and critical of Trump, tweeted that Trump's comments were "deeply irresponsible."
"The damage is done"
At the appearance, Vice President Mike Pence tried to soften Trump's comments, avoided declaring victory, and insisted that all legally cast votes be counted.
But the damage has already been done, says BBC US correspondent Anthony Zurcher:
"Trump, win or lose, has already tarnished the elections, by questioning the very machinery of American democracy."
"It is the apocalyptic scenario that many Americans feared, in which the president of the United States, from the White House itself, would undermine the vote count."
The presidential elections this Tuesday were presented as the most important in recent history.
The polls gave the Democratic candidate a clear advantage, but the results are tighter than expected.
Everything indicates that the race will be decided in the industrial belt made up of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, which in 2016 were key in Trump's victory and this Tuesday they reported delays in the scrutiny.
