Fraud cost me the popular vote says Trump
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has made unsubstantiated claims about election fraud – even as he reached out to Democratic rivals, business leaders and union chiefs in a bid to sell his policies.
During a bipartisan reception at the White House, Mr Trump is understood to have claimed that he lost the popular vote to his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton because three to five million illegal immigrants had voted in the November election.
There is no evidence to support Mr Trump’s claim, which was reported by a Democratic aide.
The assertion appears to be part of a developing pattern for Mr Trump and his new administration in which falsehoods or otherwise unverifiable claims overshadow his efforts to build bridges.
Mr Trump began his first full week as president playing host to business, union and Congressional leaders at the White House. Again and again, he ordered aides to summon journalists from their West Wing workplace at a moment’s notice for unscheduled statements and photo opportunities.
Among those meetings was a reception at the White House for congressional leaders of both parties.
Mr Trump will continue his outreach efforts as he meets with executives from the car industry, tweeting that his focus will be on creating and keeping jobs.
“I want new plants to be built here for cars sold here,” he wrote.
Mr Trump was also expected to speak by phone with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and meet with his newly swornin CIA director, Mike Pompeo.
Mr Trump’s comments on the popular vote were similar to claims he made on Twitter in late November that he had won the electoral college in a “landslide” and also “won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally”.
Mrs Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 2.9 million votes, despite losing the electoral college. There is no evidence that voter fraud significantly affected the vote.
Earlier, Mr Trump charted a new American course abroad, withdrawing the US from the sweeping Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), using one of his first actions in office to reject a centrepiece of his predecessor Barack
I want new plants to be built here for cars sold here President Donald Trump
Obama’s attempts to counter China and strengthen US ties in Asia.
Mr Trump has also signed executive orders to advance construction of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines. Both projects had been blocked by the Obama administration, partly owing to environmental concerns.
The orders are subject to renegotiations of the terms and conditions involved.
Mr Trump also signed a notice requiring the materials for the pipelines to be constructed in the United States.
The new US president also announced that he plans to nominate a justice for the Supreme Court next week, moving swiftly to try to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.