As anxiety heightened across the world over the likely successor of Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump said he was confident of victory after casting his vote in Palm Beach, Florida.
However, polls show the race between him and Kamala Harris is virtually tied.
The 78-year-old was accompanied by wife Melania, who kept her sunglasses on as her husband took questions from reporters with just hours until the polls close in what could be one of the closest elections in history.
She answered one short question about how she was feeling: ‘Very good. Thank you.’
…Worries over chaos at polling stations
Trump, wearing his signature ‘Make America Great Again’ hat, answered many questions and highlighted reports of chaos at the polling stations around the nation. He also wore an ‘I voted’ sticker.
‘It is crazy,’ the former president said. ‘I am just hearing in certain states it is going to be a long time.’
He specifically mentioned Pennsylvania, the battleground state that could decide the winner. Polls show the race there is tied. There have also been reports of problems scanning ballots in Cambria and Bedford counties, two of the most-Republican counties in the state.
‘I’m hearing in Pennsylvania they won’t have an answer until two or three days from now. I think it’s an absolute outrage if that’s the case,’ Trump noted. ‘In certain states it is going to be a long time and it won’t even be close. It won’t be that close. They say I will win the state but it will take a long time to certify it.’
…Expresses confidence
He argued if more Republicans than Democrats voted he should be declared the winner. There is no way to know if Republicans voted for him or an alternative.
‘It looks like we have a very substantial lead. It looks like we have many more Republicans voting today than Democrats. If you have a lead and we have a bigger vote that means you are doing very well. They have to call a winner. And they should call a winner, yes,’ he said.
..Ready to concede in a fair contest
But he said he would concede if he lost a ‘fair’ election.
‘If it’s a fair election I would be the first one to acknowledge it if I lost. And so far I think it’s been fair,’ he said. Trump, on the campaign trail, has indicated he doesn’t trust the voting process and could challenge the results if Harris wins.
‘I ran a great campaign. I think it was maybe the best of the three. We did great in the first one, much better in the second one. Something happened. And this was the best – I would say this was the best campaign we ran,’ he said.
Trump conceded no matter the result of the presidential race it would be his last campaign.
‘I would think so,’ he said, adding he feels ‘sad and very fulfilled.’
‘I would think we are going to have a very big victory today,’ Trump noted.