Trump claims without proof Democrats are ‘trying to steal’ California primaries

Donald Trump speaks as he signs executive orders during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday. Photograph: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Donald Trump speaks as he signs executive orders during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday. Photograph: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images Trump claims without proof Democrats are ‘trying to steal’ California primaries US president alleges there is ‘big cheating’ in elections for governor and Los Angeles mayor as results are pending Donald Trump has alleged without evidence that Democrats are cheating in California ’s primaries and claimed in a late-night social media post that the US attorney’s office in Los Angeles was investigating. As counting continues in the most populous state in the US, the president’s unfounded remarks are likely to further alarm election observers, who have warned of the risk of escalating misinformation in the absence of a final result. Trump has a history of undermining election results that don’t go in his favor. He has repeatedly alleged that Democrats “stole” the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden, despite privately admitting his defeat , according to aides. Tense governor’s race in California unsettled as vote-counting continues Read more At 12.48am on Thursday, Trump posted : “The Dumocrats are at it again! They are trying to STEAL THE GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA PRIMARY, AND THE MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES, PRIMARY, AWAY FROM TWO GREAT REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES. Here we go with the very late and massive numbers of MAIL IN BALLOTS.” “There’s BIG cheating by the Dumocrats in California,” he said 17 minutes later in another post on his Truth Social platform. “Votes are all tied up . May not be in for weeks . Under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. Why the vote counting DELAY??? President DJT”. The US attorney’s office said it had no comment on Trump’s claim that his allegations of cheating are “under investigation” by US attorneys. The Department of Justice in Washington DC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The president presented no substantive basis for questioning the legitimacy of the election. Mail-in ballots factor heavily in California political races – typically about 80% of votes cast – and those ballots can be counted up to a week after election day, as long as they are postmarked before election day. California uses a “jungle” primary process , in which the two candidates with the most votes advance to a runoff – regardless of their political party – unless one candidate wins an outright majority. A huge field of 61 candidates fragmented the vote in the race for governor, but Republicans have coalesced around Steve Hilton . Together with Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer, the three are in a contest that remains too close to call as votes are tallied. Mail-in ballots tend to favor Democrats , which implies the possibility that Hilton – whom Trump has endorsed – may