"They Are Stealing the Election"... Trump Becomes an Icon of Division

Postal Vote Attacks Raised During Campaign... 'War' and 'Fraud' Used as Provocative Words to Rally Supporters

President Donald Trump of the United States
[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] "If we count illegal votes, we could lose the election. They (candidate Joe Biden and the Democratic Party) are trying to steal and manipulate the election. We cannot allow this situation to continue."

U.S. President Donald Trump is fostering division after the presidential election. On the 5th (local time), as the vote counting for the U.S. presidential election entered its second day, Trump intensified conflicts by attacking the Biden campaign and the Democratic Party over mail-in ballots and the counting process, while seeking to unite his supporters.

The main point of attack is the mail-in ballots, which President Trump had repeatedly questioned during the campaign. According to AP News and others, Trump said he wants to use the term "legal votes, legal counting," casting doubt on the validity of mail-in ballots. He claimed, "I want only legally verified votes to be counted without any unverified mysterious votes," arguing that the gap between Biden and himself is narrowing as ballots arriving after the voting deadline in Pennsylvania and other states are added.

President Trump implied that Republicans are being excluded from the counting process. He criticized the transparency of the counting, saying Republican observers at the counting sites are not able to properly watch the process. Without providing concrete evidence, he only mentioned, "There is a lot of evidence."

The Trump campaign is rallying supporters using provocative words such as "war" and "fraud." Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, tweeted that "the best thing for America's future is for President Trump to go into 'total war' to stop the long-standing fraud, corruption, and deaths," emphasizing the need to resolve the situation. This is interpreted as shifting the blame for the current chaos onto the Democratic Party and highlighting that Trump’s actions are beneficial for the U.S. to gather supporters.

Protests and clashes have already been observed across the U.S. As the winner remains undecided on the second day of counting, supporters of each candidate have taken to the streets, sparking protests nationwide.

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, one of the key battlegrounds, Trump supporters gathered to protest, demanding to be allowed to observe the counting. On the other side of the barricades, Biden supporters raised tensions by shouting, "Count every ballot." In Detroit, Michigan, another battleground state, Trump supporters stormed the TCF Center polling place, shouting, "Stop stealing votes." This led to confrontations with the police.

In Arizona, a traditional Republican stronghold, as Biden gained an advantage, Trump supporters protested with slogans such as "We will not accept Biden’s victory." In Portland, Oregon, where anti-racism protests have continued for months, the protests between supporters of both sides intensified, prompting the deployment of the National Guard. After protesters damaged buildings and burned the U.S. flag, Oregon Governor Kate Brown ordered the National Guard deployment.

Trump supporters’ protests have also continued online. On Facebook, a pro-Trump group account claiming "Stop the election theft" attracted more than 360,000 people in a single day. Facebook deleted the account, citing that it was inciting violence. On Twitter, the hashtag #StopTheSteal has been spreading rapidly.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.