Trump warns he may not accept Wisconsin election results

(Patria) - Donald Trump has said he may not accept the results of the 2024 election in Wisconsin, a key state in his showdown with President Joe Biden, leaving open the possibility of post-election turmoil.

In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Wednesday, Trump said that if he does not believe the outcome of the November election is legitimate, "you have to fight for the country's right." Trump added: "If it's honest, I will absolutely accept the results," Reuters reported.

The Republican presidential candidate's comments followed an interview with Time magazine this week in which Trump did not rule out the possibility of political violence around the election, saying "it depends on the honesty" of the process.

On his way to an event on Thursday in Charlotte, North Carolina, Biden was asked if he was concerned that Trump would not accept the election results. "Listen to what he's saying," Biden said.

In the interview with the Journal Sentinel, Trump reiterated his claims that he won Wisconsin, a Midwestern state he lost to Democrat Biden by about 21,000 votes in 2020, and that the election was marred by fraud. Trump's campaign unsuccessfully tried to disqualify nearly 240,000 ballots in favor of Biden.

Trump won Wisconsin in 2016 against Democrat Hillary Clinton, and his rematch with Biden this year is expected to be close. He held campaign rallies in Wisconsin and Michigan, another battleground state, on Wednesday.

Trump said in the interview that he would not hesitate to cast doubt on the election if he was convinced something was wrong with the results.

"I would be doing the country a disservice if I said otherwise," he said.

"But no, I expect an honest election and we expect to win, perhaps by a lot."