As President Donald Trump's lead in key battleground states narrowed on Thursday night following predictions from Joe Biden's campaign that the race will soon be called for the Democrat, the president delivered a lie-filled speech from the White House, prompting major networks to cut away and fact-check his remarks about the election.
In his first public remarks—besides posts on Twitter—since falsely declaring victory early Wednesday, Trump yet again baselessly attacked the security of mailed ballots, made unsubstantiated allegations about efforts to "steal" the election, suggested pre-election polls lead to voter suppression, and lied about winning various states.
Trump falsely claims elections apparatuses in all of the remaining close states are run by Democrats. Georgia is one of them, and the governor + secretary of state are Republicans. (Regardless, Democrats in other states aren't doing anything wrong. And counties count the votes.)
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 5, 2020
There is no basis for Trump's suggestion there's something nefarious or "miraculous" about him losing his lead in various states.
The votes are being counted, the end.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 5, 2020
"I've read or watched all of Trump's speeches since 2016. This is the most dishonest speech he has ever given," tweeted journalist Daniel Dale, who has gained national notoriety for fact-checking the president throughout his first—and possibly last and only—term in office.
"This is all anti-democratic trash," said Dale, who called out Trump's dishonesty during the address. "This is just an absolutely appalling and anti-democratic series of lies."
Republicans blocked efforts in WI/MI/PA to count mail-in votes early as FL did and because of that gave the 'red mirage' that Trump was going to win on Tuesday.
They knew exactly what they were doing, and Trump is now inciting his supporters based on lies, lies, and more lies.
— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) November 6, 2020
In an apparent reference to Trump's speech, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.)—who won reelection Tuesday as part of the expanded Squad—tweeted: "Pathetic, simply painful to watch."
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New York Times media reporter Michael Grynbaum noted that major news networks cut away from the president to give viewers accurate information on the election:
MSNBC is not airing Trump live as Trump lobs false claims. The 3 big broadcast networks - ABC, CBS and NBC - are running a caption onscreen noting that votes are still being counted.
— Michael M. Grynbaum (@grynbaum) November 5, 2020
NBC has also cut away, with Lester Holt telling viewers, "We have to cut away here because the president has made a number of false allegations." https://t.co/ld2cuq0n5D
— Michael M. Grynbaum (@grynbaum) November 5, 2020
The Big 3 broadcast networks -ABC CBS & NBC - have cut away from Trump's speech at the White House.
— Michael M. Grynbaum (@grynbaum) November 5, 2020
The Daily Beast summarized:
The president's address on Thursday evening was largely a recitation of every grievance and conspiracy theory that he has aired, in some form, since he first declared his candidacy for the presidency five years ago. He railed against Democrats, the media, pollsters, technology companies, and officials in cities around the country that have overwhelmingly backed his political opponents.
[...]
Though the text of his remarks were designed to convey triumphalism, Trump's demeanor, and the subtext of his comments, conveyed an understanding that all indications point to him being a one-term president. In the process of trying to delegitimize the election results, he acknowledged that Biden could or even would go ahead in several states where he is trailing. And he practically pleaded with the courts to intervene in response to the "tremendous amount of litigation" that his campaign is pursuing.
As Times reporter Adam Nagourney put it: "Trump's remarks had a farewell tone to them as he listed all the obstacles that he is blaming for any loss. The downbeat contrast from his election night tone was startling."
The Times had Trump with 214 electoral votes compared with Biden's 253, as of press time. The newspaper, along with many other outlets, hasn't yet called the race in Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and North Carolina. However, both Fox News and the Associated Press have already called Arizona—which has 11 electoral votes—for Biden.