President admits plan to challenge election result as soon as polls close
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Donald Trump has admitted he plans to challenge election results as soon as the polls close, according to a report.
The president revealed his legal plan to win the election to reporters before he attended a campaign rally in North Carolina.
Mr Trump admitted he had lawyers at the ready and that they would challenge ballots being counted after 3 November in key states like Pennsylvania.
The president also defended the “patriots” who surrounded a Joe Biden campaign bus in Texas as the FBI is now investigating the incident.
Mr Trump’s supporters shut down a New York bridge as the president confided he would declare victory on election night if it ‘appears’ he’s ahead.
The president will make the claim regardless of how many votes are still being counted in key states like Pennsylvania, according to Axios.
Mr Trump has reportedly talked through the scenario over the past few weeks and plans to appear at a podium and prematurely claim he has won, three people told Axios.
Hundreds of Mr Trump’s supporters temporarily blocked the Mario Cuomo Bridge, which is named after the father of New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo.
The president’s supporters also blocked the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey, to sho support for him.
Earlier Mr Trump appeared to praise an incident in Texas which saw a group of his supporters surround a Joe Biden campaign bus.
The FBI have said they are investigating the incident, which led Mr Biden’s campaign to cancel an event due to be held in the state on Friday.
It comes as the US president prepares to hold a series of rallies ahead of election day on Tuesday.
Follow the latest updates from the White House and beyond
Trump pays tribute to Sean Connery with story about ‘big development’ in Scotland
Donald Trump has paid tribute to the actor Sean Connery, tweeting: "The legendary actor, 007 Sean Connery, has past on to even greener fairways.
"He was quite a guy, and a tough character. I was having a very hard time getting approvals for a big development in Scotland when Sean stepped in and shouted,“Let him build the damn thing”.
"That was all I needed, everything went swimmingly from there. He was so highly regarded & respected in Scotland and beyond that years of future turmoil was avoided.
“Sean was a great actor and an even greater man. Sincere condolences to his family!”
Ivanka Trump compares father to Winston Churchill
Ivanka Trump has compared her father to Winston Churchill at a rally in Ohio days before the United States presidential election.
Ms Trump said: “Winston Churchill said, ‘It was the nation that had the lion’s heart, I just had the luck to give it the roar.’
“How much does this remind you of our president and this movement?"
My colleague Emily Goddard has more:
Ivanka Trump compares father to Churchill
Adviser to US president predicts four more years in the White House
Trump ally Lindsay Graham tells women ‘there’s a place for you in America’ if ‘you follow traditional family structure’
Senator Lindsay Graham, an ally of Donald Trump, has told women there is a place for them in America if they “follow traditional family structure”.
Speaking at a rally in Conway, South Carolina, on Saturday, Mr Graham celebrated the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
He said: “You know what I like about Judge Barrett? She’s got everything. She’s just not wicked smart, she’s incredibly good. She embraces her faith.
“I want every young woman to know that that there’s a place for you in America if you’re pro-life, if you embrace your religion and you follow traditional family structure, that you can go anywhere, young lady.”
FBI investigating ‘Trump train’ incident
The FBI has said it is investigating an incident in which saw group of Donald Trump supporters who were driving trucks and waving flags surround and follow a Joe Biden campaign bus in Hays County, Texas.
The Biden campaign cancelled an event due to be held in the state on Friday due to “security reasons”.
Trump appears to praise supporters filmed ambushing and intimidating Biden campaign bus
Donald Trump has appeared to express his support for a group of his supporters who surrounded a Joe Biden campaign bus on a highway in Texas.
Tweeted a video of the incident, which shows pickup trucks and SUVs with Trump flags following the bus through Hays County, Mr Trump wrote: “I LOVE TEXAS!”
Chris Riotta has more details:
Trump appears to praise supporters filmed ambushing and intimidating Biden campaign bus
FBI launches investigation into highway confrontation described as a ‘MAGA truck attack’
Poll shows US voters don't want Trump Jr and Ivanka to run for office
Donald Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump should not consider running for office, according to a new exclusive poll commissioned by the Independent.
Voters overwhelmingly reject the idea of a Trump dynasty, with 61 per cent saying neither Mr Trump Jr, 42, nor Ms Trump, 38, should not run.
Harriet Alexander has more details on the exclusive poll:
Ivanka for president? No thanks, says poll of US voters
Exclusive: Most Americans don't want the president's children to follow him into politics, an Independent poll findsDonald Trump’s children should not try to follow in his footsteps, according to the Independent’s exclusive new poll
Dr Anthony Fauci appraises Trump and Biden’s coronavirus response
Dr Anthony Fauci has compared Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus crisis with that of his rival Joe Biden.
The US government’s top infectious diseases expert said he believed the Democratic presidential candidate was “taking it seriously from a public health perspective,” while Mr Trump was “looking at it from a different perspective,” which he said was 'the economy and reopening the country".
In comments to the Washington Post, Mr Fauci also said the US "could not possibly be positioned more poorly" to stem rising cases as more people gather indoors during the colder fall and winter months.
He cautioned the the country would need to make an "abrupt change" in public health precautions.
Trump victory ‘will have huge ramifications for the planet’, Ed Miliband says
A Donald Trump victory in the US presidential election “will have huge ramifications for the planet,” former Labour leader Ed Miliband has suggested.
The shadow secretary for business said Joe Biden was “serious” about tackling the climate crisis.
My colleague Samuel Lovett has more details:
Trump victory could have ‘huge ramifications for the planet,’ says Ed Miliband
Joe Biden ‘serious’ about tackling climate crisis, says former Labour leader
Trump holds first of five rallies
Donald Trump has held the first of five rallies today at Total Sports Park at Washington Township, located in Macomb County, in the suburbs of Detroit, our man in Michigan, Andrew Buncombe reports.
Macomb County is one of the most celebrated political bellweathers in the nation.
Reports suggest gubernatorial or presidential elections have gone to the winner here in the last seven election cycles.
During the 1980s, Macomb County was the political petri dish of pollster Stan Greenberg. He discovered voters there had voted 63 per cent for John F Kennedy in 1960, but 66 per cent cast ballots for Ronald Reagan in 1984.
He hatched the name “Reagan Democrats”, and concluded traditional, white working class voters no longer saw Democratic Party as champions of their interests, but had rather prioritised the concerns of groups such as the very poor, feminist and African Americans.
Trump says Department of Justice should investigate AOC
President claims Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez “stole” $2 million from her campaign and should be investigated by Department of Justice.
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