Trump claims votes illegally received in Pennsylvania
Ballots received late must be counted separately; Bryan Llenas reports.
President Trump seems to be taking a page from the Democrat’s playbook, but he doesn’t have the mainstream media on his side.
Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams was praised by the mainstream media for refusing to concede after her 2018 loss to Republican Brian Kemp, while accusing the GOP of stealing the election.
“While it was the Georgia governorship and not the presidency, it was still a gross denigration of our Democratic norms to even still maintain that she should be the Peach State's rightful governor,” NewsBusters Managing Editor Curtis Houck told Fox News.
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Abrams, a former Georgia state representative, gained national attention in 2018 after becoming the first African American woman to become the Democratic Party’s nominee in the Georgia gubernatorial election that year – quickly becoming a darling of the liberal media in the process.
Abrams campaign against Kemp -- and her eventual loss -- prompted widespread allegations of voter suppression and she refused to concede.
"Despite the final tally and the inauguration [of Gov. Brian Kemp] and the situation we find ourselves in, I do have a very affirmative statement to make: We won," Abrams told the crowd at the annual convention of the Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network roughly six months after her loss.
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But while Abrams’ strategy made her a fan favorite of the left who was long rumored to be a candidate to join Biden on the Democratic ticket, Trump’s claim that illegally counted votes showed up after Election Day and poll watchers were blocked from observing the counting have been mocked and dismissed by the press.
Rachel Maddow on Saturday said Trump defying the election result feels “laughable,” “small,” pitiful” and “irrelevant,” but the MSNBC host has celebrated Abrams for years.
Cornell Law School professor and media critic William A. Jacobson bashed the media for holding Trump to different standards than Democrats.
"Expectations are so low for the mainstream liberal media, that consistency in treatment of Democrats and Republicans is a bridge too far,” Jacobson told Fox News. “Stacey Abrams' fictional claims that she lost due to voter suppression similarly are amplified, not critically examined."
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Houck said it’s “amazing to see the liberal media fawn over Stacey Abrams” compared to the way Trump’s claims of voter fraud are being laughed off.
“Whether it's CNN or The Washington Post, she's welcomed as a conquering hero while any and all discussions or curiosity about transparency are treated like some obscene gesture that'll lead to an FCC fine,” Houck said. “When you have a media culture where not conspiracy theories but actual, dissenting views are treated as beyond the pale, you have a sad commentary on how the liberal media view the First Amendment rights of people other than themselves.”
While the media hasn’t taken Trump’s claims seriously, it hasn’t stopped him from refusing to back down.
“Beginning Monday, our campaign will start prosecuting our case in court to ensure election laws are fully upheld and the rightful winner is seated," Trump said in a statement.
"The American people are entitled to an honest election: that means counting all legal ballots, and not counting any illegal ballots," Trump said.
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"It remains shocking that the Biden campaign refuses to agree with this basic principle and wants ballots counted even if they are fraudulent, manufactured, or cast by ineligible or deceased voters," Trump added. "Only a party engaged in wrongdoing would unlawfully keep observers out of the count room – and then fight in court to block their access."
Conservative strategist Chris Barron doesn’t think the press will come around and treat Trump fairly anytime soon.
“Like Stacey Abrams and Al Gore, Donald Trump should exercise his legal right to challenge the vote count. The media gleefully applauded Abrams and Gore’s effort,” Barron told Fox News. “I won’t hold my breath waiting for them to treat President Trump in the same manner.”
Fox News’ Bradford Betz, Vandana Rambaran and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.