President-elect Donald Trump has denounced efforts to recount votes in the battleground state of Wisconsin, spearheaded by Green Party candidate Jill Stein and backed by Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Trump, who repeatedly charged that the election was rigged, called the push for a recount “ridiculous” and “a scam” in a statement released by his transition team Saturday.
“The people have spoken and the election is over, and as Hillary Clinton herself said on election night, in addition to her conceding by congratulating me, ‘We must accept this result and then look to the future,'” he said. He blasted the effort, accusing Stein of using it as a means to “fill her coffers with money, most of which she will never even spend on this ridiculous recount.”
But Trump didn’t stop there, taking his opinions to Twitter early Sunday morning, using his former rival’s words against her to suggest she was a hypocrite for suggesting results of the election might have been wrong:
Hillary Clinton conceded the election when she called me just prior to the victory speech and after the results were in. Nothing will change
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2016
Hillary’s debate answer on delay: “That is horrifying. That is not the way our democracy works. Been around for 240 years. We’ve had free —
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2016
and fair elections. We’ve accepted the outcomes when we may not have liked them, and that is what must be expected of anyone standing on a –
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2016
during a general election. I, for one, am appalled that somebody that is the nominee of one of our two major parties would take that kind —
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2016
of position.” Then, separately she stated, “He said something truly horrifying … he refused to say that he would respect the results of —
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2016
this election. That is a direct threat to our democracy.” She then said, “We have to accept the results and look to the future, Donald —
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2016
Trump is going to be our President. We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead.” So much time and money will be spent – same result! Sad
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2016
Clinton’s camp had not previously planned to engage in a recount until Wisconsin’s elections board approved the request submitted by Stein.
“But now that a recount has been initiated in Wisconsin, we intend to participate in order to ensure the process proceeds in a manner that is fair to all sides,” Marc Elias, counsel for the Clinton campaign, wrote in a post on Medium. Elias said the campaign would also participate in recounts in Michigan and Pennsylvania if Stein makes good on her plans to seek such actions after Wisconsin. In total, Clinton lost those three states by a little more than 100,000 votes, sealing Trump’s win in the Electoral College. Since Nov. 8, Clinton has taken a lead over Trump in popular votes by 2 million. But in those swing states, Trump’s hold is steadfast. In Wisconsin, he has a lead of 22,177 votes; in Michigan, Trump leads by 10,704 votes; and in Pennsylvania, Trump has an advantage of 70,638 votes. Still, Elias suggested that there was little expectation a recount would change the results of the election, acknowledging that “the number of votes separating Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in the closest of these states — Michigan — well exceeds the largest margin ever overcome in a recount.”
