Donald Trump Continues Election Fraud Claims and Americans Are Sounding Off

President Donald Trump was up early on Wednesday morning with more tweets falsely claiming fraud in the 2020 presidential election, and Americans were not happy. Trump posted a slew of angry tweets, lying about the election results and claiming with no evidence that there had been widespread tampering to make him lose the race. Over two weeks after they cast their votes, most Americans have had enough.

Trump began by incorrectly editorializing a tweet by NBC News reporter Josh Lederman on Wednesday morning, claiming with no evidence, that newly discovered votes in Floyd County, Georgia were “Trump votes.” He then retweeted a New York Times map showing where he got more votes in 2020 than in 2016, while falsely declaring that he had “WON THE ELECTION,” which he lost. Next, Trump lied about Michigan’s results in response to a tweet by CBS News reporter Adam Brewster and finally finished with a tweet complaining that Georgia election officials were recounting their votes “UNDER PROTEST.”

Trump lost the 2020 presidential election by a huge margin, to the point where even finding isolated incidents of voter fraud of counting errors is unlikely to sway the race in his favor at this point. While he is within his legal rights to demand recounts and file lawsuits, the evidence of election tampering around the country is scarce at best, and it does not nearly match the level of Trump’s rhetoric on social media.

Moreover, critics are concerned that Trump’s animosity about the election is shaking confidence in the American electoral system and could have long term negative effects on the country. On Wednesday, a CNN report described his outbursts as an “assault against the infrastructure of U.S. democracy.” Critics are also increasingly concerned about how Trump’s failure to cooperate in the transition process is hampering President-elect Joe Biden‘s ability to smoothly take the reigns, especially where the coronavirus pandemic is concerned.

However, more than anything, Americans themselves seem to be tired of the endless arguments, and they let Trump know that on Twitter on Wednesday morning. Here is a look at the responses Trump’s tweets got.

Lying

Many commenters were in awe of the president’s outright lies on Twitter, completely contradicting the facts of the election. They questioned how he thought he could get away with saying things that are objectively not true.

Scoreboard

While Trump focused on the increased overall voter turnout in the 2020 election, commenters repeatedly reminded him of what really matters to the election results: the electoral college. None of the stories Trump focused on on Wednesday morning would have any impact on the electoral college, which awarded him 232 votes and Biden 306.

On Camera

Some Americans asked Trump to take his angry outbursts to the TV screen rather than Twitter, wanting to at least see his emotional reactions play out in person. Some seemed to joke that this would impact the president negatively in the public eye.

Election Officials

Some people raised genuine concerns about how Trump’s rhetoric would impact the election officials he was referring to, claiming that they had “stolen” the election. They wondered if there were measures in place for law enforcement to provide protection to those poll workers.

Twitter

While Trump’s tweets are still getting fact-check blurbs added to them where applicable, many users complained that Twitter itself is still not doing enough. In places where Trump outright lied that he “won the election,” followers called on Twitter executives to take further action to stop him from stirring up confused supporters.

Mood

Noting the angry tone of Trump’s rhetoric over the last few weeks, some Twitter users were also concerned about what the president might do with his executive power while he is distressed. Some even questioned if it was wise for him to be commander-in-chief of the military from now until the inauguration in January.

Speaking to No One

While some Americans were concerned about how Trump’s supporters would respond to his rhetoric, others were confident that no one is listening to him anymore. They joked that he is now tweeting into thin air, and might as well be reciting his conspiracy theories to the server at a fast food drive thru.

Decorum

As is often the case, some Twitter users compared Trump’s rhetoric to that of presidents in the recent past, noting how far American political discourse has fallen. One person even responded to Trump’s tweet on Wednesday with a picture of a letter sent from defeated President George H.W. Bush to the new elected President Bill Clinton in 1993.