Family divided: Trumps conflicted over way forward as wild allegations continue
There has been a polarised response to Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 election, even within his own family, according to sources, as he continues to make wild allegations about the election being stolen, saying that millions of votes ‘were deleted’.
In the week following the election, which Joe Biden won, Trump has launched lawsuits in several states, made baseless claims of voter fraud on his social media profiles and refused to concede.
Trump’s adult sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr have both publicly supported their father’s fight to dispute the election results, however Ivanka Trump appears to have a differing opinion.
According to CNN, a sources say Ivanka is “privately realistic” about her father’s loss, though she is aware the situation must be handled delicately, as her future is intertwined with her fathers.
CNN also reported she has asked Trump if his refusal to concede the election is worth damaging his legacy and his businesses.
While Ivanka’s brothers have used their social media platforms to share rhetoric similar to their father’s - mainly around the integrity of the election and the results - she has been less vocal.
Ivanka has shied away from making statements about regarding fraud in the election, the closest she got to her father’s rhetoric was a tweet from almost a week ago regarding legal and illegal votes.
“Every legally cast vote should be counted. Every illegally cast vote should not. This should not be controversial,” she said,
“This is not a partisan statement — free and fair elections are the foundation of our democracy.”
Ivanka’s husband Jared Kushner, who is also one of Trump’s senior advisors, has also reportedly urged him to accept the results of the election, the Associated Press reported.
CNN also reported a source said the two want legal avenues to be exhausted.
Some have speculated Ivanka’s approach could mean she plotting a political career of her own, and by being less vocal, it could be her way of avoiding her words being used against her in three years if she decides to establish a campaign for the 2024 presidency.
Trump’s claim of ‘deleted’ votes quashed
Despite Trump’s claims about the election, majority of Americans have accepted Biden won.
An Reuters/Ipsos national opinion survey found that 79 per cent of adults in the US recognise Biden won the election.
While Trump is continuing to use his social media to allege there was incidence of fraud during the election, it is important to note officials have said the 2020 election was the most secure in history.
His most recent tweet claims millions of votes for him were “deleted”, a claim which was refuted by Dominion Voting Systems.
The statement from Dominion says that it “denies claims about any vote switching or alleged software issues with our voting systems,” The Associated Press reported.
More so, there is no evidence of widespread fraud in the election or any problems with Dominion’s systems.
Trump’s claim votes for him were deleted came from a “report” from a conservative television network One America News Network.
The report promoted a theory posted to a pro-Trump blog that claimed that millions of votes were switched or deleted in Biden’s favour.
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The anonymous commenter who posted the theory claimed the findings are supported by data from the polling firm Edison Research, The Associated Press reported.
Yet the company has not produced such a report, said Larry Rosin, the president of Edison Research.
“We have no evidence of any voter fraud,” Rosin said in an email to The Associated Press.
On Thursday, a coalition of federal and state officials said there was no evidence that votes were compromised or altered in the election.
“While we know there are many unfounded claims and opportunities for misinformation about the process of our elections, we can assure you we have the utmost confidence in the security and integrity of our elections, and you should too,” the statement said.
“When you have questions, turn to elections officials as trusted voices as they administer elections.”
“REPORT: DOMINION DELETED 2.7 MILLION TRUMP VOTES NATIONWIDE. DATA ANALYSIS FINDS 221,000 PENNSYLVANIA VOTES SWITCHED FROM PRESIDENT TRUMP TO BIDEN. 941,000 TRUMP VOTES DELETED. STATES USING DOMINION VOTING SYSTEMS SWITCHED 435,000 VOTES FROM TRUMP TO BIDEN.” @ChanelRion @OANN
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 12, 2020
That statement was distributed by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which spearheaded federal election protection efforts.
It also said: “There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.”
The statement also said the 2020 election was the “most secure in American history” and that officials are double checking and reviewing the entire election process before finalising the result.
With Associated Press
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