"We won Georgia, and we won Florida, and we won a lot of places, we won Ohio," Trump said to his supporters Saturday, adding "and we’re winning this election. All I can do is campaign and wait for the numbers, but when the numbers come out of ceilings, come out of leather bags, you start to say ‘what’s going on.’"
Trump claimed that he won over 74 million votes during the November election, which, according to him, is more than enough to secure victory, highlighting that the numbers "could have been even higher" if Democrats had not sought to "get rid of some [ballots]."
POTUS repeatedly alleged that Democrats cheated and rigged the presidential election.
"But we will still win it," Trump stated, adding that "[Democrats] are gonna try and rig this [Senate] election too. They’re trying to steal these two important Senate seats," Trump declared, adding that "these seats are the last line of defense to save America."
The president reiterated his claim that Democrats would turn the US into a socialist country if they won.
"If I lost, I’d be a very gracious loser," Trump told supporters in Georgia, adding, "but you can’t ever accept, when they steal and rig and rob. The swing states that we’re all fighting over right now, I won them all by a lot," he stated.
Trump said that Republican Georgia Governor Brian Kemp could have stopped the alleged fraud and cheating during the November election, but he retreated.
"The moment you question [Democrats], they try and intimidate you, they call you a poor American, you’re not a good American, you don’t love our country. They don’t love our country! They beat you down, shut you up and make you retreat. That’s what they’ve done to your governor, your governor should be ashamed of himself," Trump told Georgia supporters.
POTUS arrived to Georgia to rally support for Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, as The Peach State will hold runoff elections on 5 January.
Perdue and Loeffler are facing Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. Democrats need both Senate seats to hold a 50-50 majority, as, in the event of a Senate tie vote, the vice president casts the deciding ballot.
Earlier on Saturday, Trump tweeted that he had asked for a special session of the Georgia legislature to discuss election results.
Trump 2024?
While giving the speech in Georgia, POTUS revealed that he does not exclude running for president in 2024 and expects the Republicans to take over the House of Representatives in 2022.
"We’re gonna win back the White House. We’re gonna take back the House in 2022, and then in 2024, and hopefully I won’t have to be a candidate, we’re gonna win back the White House again. A friend of mine said ‘Oh, don’t worry about it sir, you’re way up in the polls, you’ll win in 2024,’ I said ‘I don’t want to wait until 2024, I want to go back three weeks,’" Trump said.
'Russia Has Big Advantage Over Us'
During his rally speech, Trump touched upon the issue of rejoining the Paris climate agreement - one that he withdrew the US from in 2017.
"The Paris Environmental Accord. I said, I’m gonna get killed in this one. But we would’ve paid trillions and trillions of dollars. Russia has a big advantage over us, they go back to old days when the air was very dirty, that was their standard. China doesn't kick in until 2030, we kick in immediately, and the money that wouldn't have cost us," Trump remarked at the Saturday rally in Valdosta.
Trump suggested that if the US were to re-enter the Paris climate accord, 20 percent of US factories would shut down.
The move by Trump to withdraw the US from the climate accord officially took effect on 4 November this year. Joe Biden, projected by US mainstream media to win the White House race, has promised to recommit the US to the treaty.
In November, former US Secretary of State and newly-appointed Biden administration climate envoy, John Kerry, said that the international community must raise its ambition in fighting global environmental problems, as the Paris Agreement alone cannot solve the crisis.
Trump on Incoming COVID Vaccine
Coronavirus vaccines will begin to be available in the US next week, Trump said at the rally.
"Vaccines are on their way at a level that nobody ever thought possible, it would have taken another administration five years, it took us seven months, and they’re starting next week, and we’re going to start vaccinating, and a lot of people are already vaccinated," Trump said.
Earlier this week, a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) committee voted to give healthcare workers and nursing home residents the first COVID-19 vaccines once the doses are rolled out, reportedly in the next three weeks.
According to Moncef Slaoui, an adviser to the Trump administration’s 'Operation Warp Speed' plan on the vaccines, some 60 to 70 million doses could be available per month beginning in January, after the expected US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
CDC slides released at a live-streamed meeting this week showed the agency expected around 40 million COVID-19 vaccine doses by the end of December, with weekly shipments of 5 million to 10 million doses expected once a vaccine is authorized by regulators.