Donald Trump tweets astonishing election claim

As the US braces for chaos, with Washington set to formally approve Biden’s win, Donald Trump has made another extraordinary claim.

Donald Trump has tweeted that he will win the presidency with Mike Pence’s help as the US braces for demonstrations against Washington’s formal approval of Joe Biden’s win.

In the tweet, which Twitter tagged “this claim about election fraud is disputed”, Trump wrote, “If Vice President @Mike_Pence comes through for us, we will win the Presidency.

“Many States want to decertify the mistake they made in certifying incorrect & even fraudulent numbers in a process NOT approved by their State Legislatures (which it must be). Mike can send it back!”

What Trump is referring to is the event in Washington presided over by Mike Pence as Senate President.

If Vice President @Mike_Pence comes through for us, we will win the Presidency. Many States want to decertify the mistake they made in certifying incorrect & even fraudulent numbers in a process NOT approved by their State Legislatures (which it must be). Mike can send it back!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2021

Trump is pressuring Vice President Mike Pence (above with the president last year) to declare the votes fraudulent. Picture: Chris Kleponis/Getty Images

Congress is meeting in a joint session Wednesday to formally count the votes of the US Electoral College.

The states have already counted their own electors, putting Biden on 306 votes ahead of Trump on 232.

After each US election, Congress meets on January 6, two weeks before the incoming president’s inauguration, to tally the votes submitted by the states.

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Trump with Republican incumbent senator Kelly Loeffler at a rally ahead of the Senate run-off in Georgia on Monday. Picture: Sandy Huffaker/AFP

At 1pm on Wednesday, lawmakers from the House and Senate will assemble in the House chamber with Vice President Pence.

Two wooden boxes containing the states’ certified results will be brought into the chamber. Pence will open the sealed certificates and hand them to tellers appointed from among the House and Senate members to read.

In a tweet on Tuesday, Trump falsely asserted that Pence “has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors.”

Despite that tweet, Pence’s role is mostly ceremonial and the vote has been certified and declared legitimate in each US state.

Trump supporters are amassing in the nation’s capital to loudly voice their disapproval of Joe Biden’s election win and reiterate Trump’s baseless claims of electoral fraud.

On Tuesday, demonstrators gathered in DC, one announcing to the crowd, “Patriots! Welcome to the revolution”.

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