-
Donald Trump suggested that Dr. Mehmet Oz “would proclaim victory” in Pennsylvania.
-
He also suggested that the other GOP candidates were cheating to win.
-
Trump’s suggestion comes amid a string of high-profile endorsement flops in recent primary races.
Former President Donald Trump raged in a series of Truth Social posts Wednesday night, urging Dr. Pennsylvania Senate nominee Mehmet Oz declared himself the winner of the state’s Republican primary.
“Dr. Oz should declare victory,” Trump wrote in one of his messages.
He then cast doubt on the legitimacy of the Pennsylvania vote count, citing unfounded deception by the GOP candidates running against Oz, the man he supported.
“It makes it much harder for them to cheat on the ballots they ‘accidentally’ found,” Trump said, echoing the former president’s baseless claim that widespread voter fraud had robbed him of a second presidential term.
Oz is currently neck and neck with hedge fund manager David McCormick in the running, with the votes still being counted.
Trump’s call for Oz to declare victory recalls his actions in November 2020, when he tried to claim he had won the election while votes were still being counted in several states.
On Wednesday night, Trump insisted that “Oz had won.” In other posts, Trump also scolded the “Fake News Media” and Fox News, criticizing the latter for being “far off the count and timing in the Oz vote.”
According to Decision Desk headquarters, Oz has a 0.2 percentage point lead — representing 2,567 votes — over McCormick, counting an estimated 94% of the expected votes. This small margin means that the race will be automatically recounted if it holds.
Just two weeks ago, the former president touted the value of his “unmatched” and “immaculate” reputation for approval, claiming that Republican candidates who want to win fear him.
However, that claim was undermined this week after controversial freshman Rep. Madison Cawthorn was removed from office by his main challenger, Chuck Edwards.
Meanwhile, another Trump-backed political candidate, Charles Herbster, lost his Nebraska governorship race last week amid allegations of sexual assault by eight women. In Idaho, Trump-backed Lieutenant Governor Janice McGeachin was defeated in her attempt to overthrow Governor Brad Little.
Trump has made 183 recommendations since he left office, according to Ballotpedia, many of which have yet to be played out. While most of the Trump-backed political candidates took the win, many had run in undisputed races.
Read the original article on Business Insider
