Scores of TV networks in the United States of America late on Thursday (Friday morning at Nigeria time) halted live coverage of US President Donald Trump’s first public appearance since election night over concerns that the president was spreading disinformation.
During the live address, Trump unleashed a flood of incendiary and unsubstantiated claims in a 17-minute address, insisting that Democrats were using “illegal votes” to “steal the election from us.
“If you count the legal votes, I easily win,” said Trump, adding that if “illegal votes” are counted, “they can try to steal the election from us”.
“In Pennsylvania, Democrats have gone to the State Supreme Court to try and ban our election observers and very strongly,” the president added.
“Now we won the case, but they’re going forward. They don’t want anybody in there. They don’t want anybody watching them as they count the ballots, and I can’t imagine why.
“There’s absolutely no legitimate reason why they would not want to have people watching this process, because if it’s straight, they should be proud of it. Instead, they’re trying obviously to commit fraud. There’s no question about that.”
Election observers ‘using Binoculars to monitor poll’
Trump says election observers are being kept away from watching the vote
Trump, who is trailing Biden with over four million votes, said election observers have been sent far away from the voting process that they have to use binoculars to monitor the poll.
“In Philadelphia, observers have been kept far away, very far away. So far that people are using binoculars to try and see, and there have been tremendous problems caused.
“They put a paper on all of the windows so you can’t see in, and the people that are banned are very unhappy and become somewhat violent.”
Trump alleged there was “historic election interference from big media, big money, and big tech”.
MSNBC, ABC, CBS, CNBC, and NBC cut away from his speech stating that the president was peddling falsehood.
Democratic candidate Joe Biden responded to the declarations in a tweet saying “no one is going to take our democracy away from us. Not now, not ever.”
The US, he continued, “has come too far, fought too many battles, and endured too much to let this happen.”
He urged people to remain calm as the ballot tabulation continues. “Each ballot must be counted,” the former vice president said from Delaware.
“It is the will of the voters – no one, not anyone else – who chooses the president of the United States of America,” Biden said.
Meanwhile, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party, Joe Biden, has taken the lead in the state of Georgia in the United States.
US President Donald Trump was leading in the state from the previous count of votes.
But Biden has overtaken him with 917 votes in the state, according to The Spectator Index.
As 99% reporting, Biden polled 2,449,371, while Trump Polled 2,448,454 and both fighting for 16 Electoral College in the state of Georgia.
This development does not seal the state for Biden yet because vote counting is still in progress.
Of the 538 US Electoral College votes, Biden has so far polled 264 with Trump trailing behind with 214 votes.
At least 270 electoral votes are required to secure a victory in the presidential election.
Both candidates have expressed optimism that they would emerge victorious — but Trump alleged malpractices in the exercise.
Nevada, Arizona, Alaska, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina are some key states that are yet to announce final results.
