Trump stokes voter fraud fears with wild rant claiming it was 'impossible' for Republicans to win midterms

President Donald Trump questioned the validity of the midterm election results on Monday despite his declaration last week that he would accept the results.‘Does anybody really believe that this “Election” was honest. How could the Polls be so wrong???’ Trump wrote on social media.The president questioned the rise of early voting returns that ran up huge margins for Democratic candidates.‘Some early voting “dumps” were so large that it was impossible to win, no matter how many people went to vote,’ Trump added.The president further questioned the accuracy of election machines.‘It’s all about the machines, which are far more important than the voter!’ he added.Last week, Trump told reporters he would accept the results of the midterms that delivered a punishing verdict for the Republican Party and his first two years as president.Trump told the New York Times that he would ‘absolutely’ accept the results. President Donald Trump speaks to the media prior to traveling on Air Force One President Donald Trump again raised concerns about the security of the US Elections on social media, even though he has said he will 'absolutely' accept the results But in the week since the election, his tune has changed. The president has frequently stoked unsubstantiated claims of election fraud, especially surrounding early voting, vote-by-mail, and voting machines on the grounds that they are susceptible to malicious fraud or error.Last Friday, President Donald Trump declared that Republican Senator Dan Sullivan had won his re-election campaign in Alaska, even though 25 percent of the votes remained left to count.Trump has been fuming about Democratic efforts to recruit a second Dan Sullivan to the Senate campaign to confuse voters. The 'decoy' Dan Sullivan has earned over 3,500 votes, which Republicans argue should have gone to Senator Sullivan.On Sunday, Trump told CBS 60 Minutes interviewer Ross Douthat that Republicans lost political ground in the midterms due to his immigration and deportation policies that were 'too tough.''I think ultimately... that hurt me,' Trump said.He also conceded that the war in Iran also hurt Republicans in the midterms, even though he said he would have still ordered military operations in Iran to prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon.'I can tell you if I had it to do again, this historically, for history, will go down as one of the best things we ever did because if they ever had a nuclear weapon, they would blow up the world,' he said.He also blamed the Iran war for costing votes on Election Night.'People agree with what I'm doing on Iran, but they probably weren't willing to deal with the short term consequence of paying more for gasoline,' Trump said on a phone call to Fox News as results rolled in.'You know, I understand that. I don't agree with it and I would say to people, it's a short term problem but for long term gain.'The president insisted his absence from the ballot was the real reason for the losses, despite repeatedly urging supporters to imagine he was running, including on Fox the night before the election.'I wasn't on the ballot, and if I was, we would have won in a landslide,' Trump wrote on Truth Social.'The reason we lost is the war,' Vice President JD Vance echoed in a lengthy post on social media last week.He added that 'many people who voted for' Trump in 2024 had turned their backs on him.He also attacked supporters of the war, which has cost the US billions.'If you'd like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next six years was worth it, then do so,' Vance wrote.