President-elect Donald Trump claimed in a new Twitter rant that he lost the popular vote to rival Hillary Clinton because of the "millions of people who voted illegally."
His outburst came a day after the Clinton campaign announced that it will participate in an election recount. The Green Party filed for a recount in Wisconsin on Friday, November 25, and has also called for recounts in Pennsylvania and Michigan. Trump won the Electoral College by more than the required 270 votes, but Clinton leads the former reality TV star by more than 2.2 million in the popular vote count.
"Hillary Clinton conceded the election when she called me just prior to the victory speech and after the results were in," the real estate mogul, 70, tweeted just after 7 a.m. ET on Sunday, November 27. He then slammed the former secretary of state, 69, for criticizing his pre-Election Day statement that he might not accept the election results.
"Nothing will change Hillary's debate answer on delay: 'That is horrifying. That is not the way our democracy works. Been around for 240 years,'" Trump tweeted in a string of seven tweets, quoting Clinton's quote from the third presidential debate. "'We've had free 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 [debate stage] 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 of position.' Then, separately she stated, 'He said something truly horrifying … he refused to say that he would respect the results of 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 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."
The former Celebrity Apprentice host continued on Sunday afternoon: "In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally. It would have been much easier for me to win the so-called popular vote than the Electoral College in that I would only campaign in 3 or 4 states instead of the 15 states that I visited. I would have won even more easily and convincingly (but smaller states are forgotten)!"
Trump, who won the electoral vote with 290 votes compared to Clinton's 233, did not provide any evidence of illegal votes to back his claims. The Washington Post reported on Sunday that Trump's allegation is bogus "with no documented proof." The former first lady has yet to respond.
