Harris says she will be 'sadly ready' if Trump prematurely claims victory Tuesday
Vice President Harris on Wednesday said her team will be ready in the event former President Trump prematurely claims victory on Election Day.
ABC’s Mary Bruce asked Harris in an interview what she would do if Trump were to say he won before the results are in on Tuesday, noting that he did so in 2020.
“We are sadly ready if he does and, if we know that he is actually manipulating the press and attempting to manipulate the consensus of the American people … we are prepared to respond,” the vice president said.
Trump spoke in 2020 hours after Election Day, before all votes were counted. President Biden was then declared the winner the Saturday after Election Day.
Harris has previously said there are teams in place in the event that Trump challenges the result. Trump has only committed to accepting the election results if he deems them “free and fair.”
ABC interviewed Harris six days before Election Day while she was on a three-state swing through North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
While polls have tightened, and some have shifted toward Trump in recent days, Bruce asked Harris if she feels she needs Republicans to vote for her to win.
“Here’s how I think about it. I really want to bring our country together. We’ve had about a decade of this Trump era that has been all about … dividing people and having Americans point fingers at each other, and I think people are exhausted,” Harris said.
The vice president was also asked about President Biden’s comments a day earlier in which he appeared to refer to Trump’s supporters as “garbage.” She reiterated her earlier comments, saying “I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for.”
Trump is predicted to have a 53 percent chance of winning the election, according to Decision Desk HQ/The Hill’s forecasting model, and aggregate national polling shows Harris leading with 48.3 percent support to Trump's 47.7 percent.