US Presidential Election Tight Race... Harris Says "Trump May Declare Victory Before Counting Is Complete" (Summary)

Election Protest 'Warning Letter'... Labeled 'Enemy of Democracy'
Ipsos Poll Shows Harris 46% vs Trump 43%

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris stated that her competitor, former President Donald Trump, might declare victory before the vote count is completed in the November election, and that she is preparing for this possibility. In this closely contested election that is expected to remain tight until the very end, she warned that former President Trump could refuse to accept the election results just as he did in the 2020 election, while continuing her offensive against him as an ‘enemy of democracy.’

Former U.S. President Donald Trump (left) and Vice President Kamala Harris [Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Harris Warns of Trump’s Possible Refusal to Accept Election Results

On the 22nd (local time), in an interview with NBC News, Vice President Harris was asked whether she was considering the possibility that Republican presidential candidate former President Trump might declare victory before the election count is complete. She replied, "Of course." She added, "We will respond as the night of the election and the days after approach," and said, "We are focusing on this issue with resources and expertise."

Vice President Harris specifically pointed out that former President Trump, who lost to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election, refused to accept the election results immediately afterward. She criticized, "Donald Trump tried to overturn a free and fair election, still denies the will of the people, and incited mobs to attack the Capitol." She emphasized, "(As a result) 140 law enforcement officers were attacked, and some died. This is a serious issue." She also added, "Americans must make a very serious decision about the future of our country two weeks from now (in the election)."

Former President Trump has repeatedly claimed ‘election fraud’ through mail-in voting manipulation and urged his supporters to vote with a margin so large that it cannot be overturned in this election. Experts have warned that such claims could be exploited again to overturn the election results this year. In this context, Vice President Harris’s remarks serve as a kind of warning. The Harris campaign has consistently labeled former President Trump as an ‘enemy of democracy’ and launched attacks accordingly. President Biden also claimed in his speech that former President Trump is a "real threat to democracy."

Tight Race Continues... Harris 46% vs. Trump 43%

With the election day just two weeks away, Vice President Harris and former President Trump continue to engage in a fierce contest. According to a nationwide poll (margin of error ±2 percentage points) conducted by Reuters and Ipsos from the 15th to the 21st among 4,129 adults across the United States and released on the same day, Vice President Harris’s support rate was 46%, slightly ahead of former President Trump’s 43%. On the same day, reports also emerged that ‘Wall Street Emperor’ Jamie Dimon, Chairman of JP Morgan, and Bill Gates, former CEO of Microsoft (MS), are quietly supporting Vice President Harris.

However, analyses suggest that the Latino voters, traditionally considered a Democratic ‘base,’ are shifting toward former President Trump. In a poll released the previous day by USA Today (margin of error ±9 percentage points), 49% of Latino voters said they support former President Trump, 11 percentage points ahead of Vice President Harris’s 38%. In the 2020 election, 63% of Latino voters supported Democratic candidate President Biden.

On the cryptocurrency-based political betting site Polymarket, former President Trump’s probability of winning was recorded at 64.9% in the afternoon, surpassing Vice President Harris’s 35.2%. However, the betting site has raised concerns about possible manipulation after suspicious large bets with unusual patterns were observed from some accounts.

Meanwhile, former President Trump launched harsh personal attacks against Vice President Harris during a campaign rally in the southern battleground state of North Carolina, calling her "low intelligence" and a "radical left-wing lunatic unqualified to run for president."