Former President Donald Trump has said that he may not accept the 2024 election results in Wisconsin if he finds it illegitimate, sparking concerns about potential post-election turmoil in this battleground state.
The potential Republican candidate for the upcoming elections added that he would "fight for the right of the country" if he finds irregularities or unfairness in the election.
The remarks came in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin's largest newspaper, and follow a similar comment said in an interview with Time magazine earlier in the week.
In the Times interview, Trump did not rule out the possibility of political violence surrounding the election, based on the fairness of the electoral process.
Trump said in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel interview that he would not hesitate to raise doubts if he believes there are irregularities with the results, adding that he would be failing the country if he refrained from expressing concerns about the electoral process.
However, he also expressed optimism about the prospect of a fair election.
"I expect an honest election and we expect to win maybe very big," he said.
He said an honest election result hinges on ballots being "counted honestly," again raising questions about certain changes to voting practices that occurred during the pandemic.
Wisconsin, a Midwestern battleground state, holds significant electoral importance, having been won by Trump in 2016 but by Biden in 2020.
In the interview, Trump reiterated his claims of victory in Wisconsin, a state he lost to Biden by approximately 21,000 votes in the 2020 election.
Trump had alleged election fraud and unsuccessfully sought to invalidate nearly 240,000 ballots cast for Biden after these election.
The former president blamed his loss on widespread voter fraud despite recounts paid for by Trump's campaign in two of Wisconsin's largest counties, as well as subsequent court rulings and independent studies confirming Biden's victory in the state.
The upcoming rematch between Trump and Biden is expected to be closely contested, with both candidates vying for victory.
President Joe Biden responded to questions about whether he's concerned about Trump's acceptance of the election results with a simple yet pointed remark.
"Listen to what he says," Biden said.
