Trump supporters ready to claim fraud if he loses

Photo: Luke Hales Getty Images via Agence France-Presse Supporters wave a “Trump 2024” flag in Newark, New Jersey.

Nicholas Roll – Agence France-Presse

Published at 10:06 Updated at 15:53

• United States

A few days before the election, Brandon Dent is convinced that Donald Trump will win, but fears that fraud could reverse the situation, like many supporters present Saturday in Virginia for one of their champion's last rallies.

“He’s going to win hands down,” predicts the 22-year-old delivery driver, pointing to a crowd patiently waiting for the former president to rally in Salem, in the eastern United States, in the heart of mountains tinged with autumnal shades of red and orange.

But in the event of a defeat, “I really wouldn’t believe it if someone told me she won,” says the young man.

The Republican candidate has spent his campaign casting doubt on the integrity of the vote that will be held on Tuesday, repeating a rhetoric he has maintained since his defeat four years earlier against Joe Biden, which he has never acknowledged despite repeated denials from the authorities.

These accusations culminated in a particularly violent episode on January 6, 2021, the storming by Trumpist rioters of the Capitol, the seat of Congress, where the victory of the current president was being certified.

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Since then, a large part of Republicans still believe that the 2020 presidential election was, in Donald Trump's words, “stolen” from them.

Jace Boda, an engineer, is convinced that “there will be a lot of fraud.” “Kamala will become president, but I think Trump will win” if the vote count is honest, he adds.

Behind Donald Trump’s fiery rhetoric, Republicans have also turned up the heat in the courts, often unsuccessfully challenging the vote count, voting machines, voter registration, early ballots, certification of results, and all manner of technical issues.

“Dishonest”

And as early voting has begun, a similar atmosphere has already begun to simmer in some states.

“I’ve been wary of Democrats since the last election,” said Olen, another participant who, like many others, refuses to give his last name to the media.

“Everything they do is dishonest,” said the 70-year-old logger and farmer, wearing a shirt with a bloodied face and raised fist, the now iconic photo taken just after the assassination attempt on the Republican candidate in July.

The slogan “Fight! Fight! Fight!” accompanies the image, a reference to the billionaire’s words that same day, while being escorted by his bodyguard.

Nationally, polls show Trump and Harris neck and neck. But the election will be decided in certain so-called key states, because they are neither won by the Republicans nor the Democrats, for example Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

If Donald Trump wins by a landslide, some Republicans plan to put their claims of “massive fraud” aside. Like Cherl, who works for a nonprofit. This woman, with a pink cap on her head, promises in advance that she will “question” the results if Kamala Harris wins, but that she will “rather trust” them if Donald Trump wins.

“God has already planned for Trump to become president,” says the 39-year-old. “We’re just waiting for it to happen.”