Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) claimed that former President Trump might declare an early win before the official results are announced.
During an interview on Monday, Sanders warned CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that Trump would “undermine democracy” by prematurely declaring his victory.
“It’s not ‘what if.’ Kaitlan, it is not ‘what if’ — he will,” Sanders gravely cautioned. “Everybody should be aware.”
The Vermont senator suggested that as the votes roll in from Election Day, Trump could proclaim that he won the race, as the only way he believes he wouldn’t is due to voter fraud.
“That is what will happen… this is why he has got to lose, because this is exactly how you undermine democracy: ‘The only way I can lose is if there’s fraud.’ Well, that means you can’t lose a legitimate election,” Sanders noted. “He has got to be defeated.”
“We have to be prepared for that,” he added. “And sadly there are many of his supporters who do believe that.”
“This is one of the reasons Trump must be defeated,” he parroted. “Because of that constant attack on the rule of law and the attempt to undermine American democracy.
Meanwhile, John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, also predicted that the Republican would announce his victory in the presidential race by Tuesday night.
Asked on BBC Newsnight if Trump would accept the election results if he lost, Bolton replied, “Of course not. He’ll declare that he’s won.”
“I’m predicting between 9 and 10 o’clock he’ll announce that he’s won and hope that the states in the West — Arizona, Nevada, where polls will still be open — might be susceptible to what he has to say,” he estimated.
In a previous conversation with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Bolton expressed doubts about Trump, who he called “a nut job,” accepting unfavorable results, warning, “we should be ready for it.”
