Heading into Election Day, all signs pointed to a historic win by Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. By the end of the night, Donald Trump was the new president-elect, but he was unable to win the popular vote in the process.
Trump claims
After putting his foot on the gas in the final weeks of the election, Donald Trump was able to pick up big electoral wins in key swing states. Walking out the winner in Ohio, Florida, Michigan, and Pennsylvania was enough to seal the deal and enable the former host of "The Apprentice" to take the next step in moving into the White House.
Despite this, the popular vote count ended in Hillary Clinton's favor, with the former Secretary of State gaining nearly three million more total votes than the billionaire real estate mogul. In the months since the election, Trump has gone on to claim that "voter fraud" was what caused him to be denied the popular vote. This theory has been debunked, but Trump is sticking with his story, as reported by The Washington Post on January 23.
Despite no evidence,Trump tells congressional leaders that millions of illegal ballots cost him the popular vote https://t.co/xcuWzsTmYI
— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 24, 2017
On Monday afternoon, Donald Trump met with several leaders of Congress at the White House, and reportedly spent time dusting off his debunked voter fraud theory as his excuse for why he didn't win the popular vote.
An anonymous aide close to the situation quoted the president, who told those at the meeting that between three million and five million "illegals" cast their vote for Clinton on Election Day. In addition to his conspiracy theory, Trump went on to say, "I do respect the electoral college."
Trump wrongly tells congressional leaders that millions of "illegals" cost him the popular vote https://t.co/kfizc33Zdi pic.twitter.com/ZWKL3X6X4o
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) January 24, 2017
Myth-busters
Despite Donald Trump and his supporters pushing the conspiracy that illegal immigrants voted against him, fact-checkers have repeatedly confirmed that there is no evidence to back up the allegations.
The rift between the Trump team, made up of his supporters and administration, and his critics has reached a new level, where factual information is even turned away. Former campaign manager Kellyanne Conway used the term "alternative facts" over the weekend as a way to describe talking points and theories created by the new president, which was instantly met with push back. As Trump and his team continue their feud with the news media, it appears the next four years could get very interesting.
