Trump makes BASELESS election 'FRAUD' claims after saying he would accept the results

[0:00] Democrats still lead the two remaining uncalled Senate races as election officials continue to [0:05] process outstanding ballots. In Alaska, Mary Peltola now has just over 2,500 more votes than [0:12] incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan. The Alaska Beacon reports she has more than 48% [0:18] of the first choice votes, moving her closer to the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff. [0:24] The state today is expected to go through tens of thousands of ballots that were absentee [0:29] and early votes received in the days immediately before Election Day. Meanwhile, in Mississippi, [0:36] Democratic nominee Scott Collum leads Republican incumbent Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith by nearly [0:41] 2,800 votes with 99% of the ballots counted. Today is the deadline for provisional ballots, [0:48] known in Mississippi as affidavit ballots, which are used if there are questions about a voter's [0:55] ID or registration status. It's also the deadline for absentee ballots by mail, as long as they were [1:01] postmarked by Election Day. All 82 counties in Mississippi have to certify their results by [1:07] Friday. Meanwhile, less than a week after President Trump said he would accept the midterm election [1:14] results, he's now making baseless claims that the elections were rigged. Back on election night, [1:20] Trump told the New York Times he was, quote, absolutely willing to accept the results of [1:25] the midterm elections and was prepared to work with Democrats. But yesterday, the president posted [1:31] on social media, quote, does anybody really believe that this election was honest? How could the polls [1:37] be so wrong? Some early voting dumps were so large that it was impossible to win. No matter how many [1:43] people went to vote, it's all about the machines, which are far more important than the voter. [1:48] The claim is a familiar one, and it's false. Over the last several years, Trump has repeatedly made [1:55] these false allegations about voter fraud, specifically in elections that he or his allies [2:00] have lost. When asked for comment, the White House referred to Trump's posts and comments he made before [2:05] the election, saying he would accept the results, quote, if they're honest elections. Joining us now, [2:12] MSNOW White House reporter, Akayla Gardner. Akayla, thanks for being up early with us. So let's start [2:17] there. What are White House officials telling you at all about these new comments? This is incredibly [2:23] familiar and par for the course from the president to continue to spread baseless lies about the [2:30] election. I mean, there is no election that the president has put himself on the line where he [2:35] has not pushed these baseless claims about election fraud. He's doing the same now. Last week when he made [2:41] these comments initially to The New York Times, many people noted to me the fact that all the results still [2:47] weren't in. And today we're going to still be waiting for those results in Mississippi and Alaska. [2:52] And the president had a pretty bad drubbing. That was not a good Tuesday night for him last week. [2:58] I absolutely think that he is recognizing that and feeling that. But he is also somebody who [3:02] goes back and forth between saying the same thing, saying that he will compromise with Democrats and [3:08] also saying that he will be Mr. Vito. And I think this is just yet another example of that. And he really [3:13] started this over the weekend when he was posting on True Social these charts, which again have no [3:17] basis in reality, insinuating that there was something nefarious that happened on Tuesday. [3:22] And we have not seen any evidence of this up until this point. Also, it's just striking that once again, [3:28] an election where he is president seems to be rigged, but the ones where he is not president [3:34] are not. Kayla, there's also this other thing that I want to get you on. [3:37] President Trump continues to defend NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang after the tech leader admitted to [3:44] having an affair with an alleged Chinese spy. Huang is one of the most influential figures in [3:50] artificial intelligence and technology. And Trump told reporters he spoke to him by phone yesterday. [3:57] When you went to China earlier this year in May, did you know about these alleged ties to Chinese [4:03] spy then? Or no, I didn't hear about it then. But a lot of people have heard about it. And Jensen [4:09] totally denies that he had. I asked him today because I did speak to him today just to see if [4:14] he's feeling all right. How are you doing? And I asked him about that. And he said he had absolutely [4:20] no idea that the person in question was a spy. I asked him that question. Did you have any idea [4:26] that she was a spy? He said, I had no idea that she was a spy. And I really believe him. [4:31] The president added that the FBI is investigating, but doesn't think Huang, who has contributed [4:38] millions to Trump-backed projects, has anything to worry about. Despite having the president's [4:44] support, some senior Republican lawmakers are considering whether to investigate the matter. [4:49] The chairs of the House Foreign Affairs, Intelligence, and China committees have asked [4:52] Huang to appear for a closed-door briefing next week. And some Republicans are calling for probes [4:57] in Huang's conduct and NVIDIA's broader dealings with China. [5:01] Akilah, what are your sources telling you about this? It's so striking that the president was so [5:06] quick to defend Huang. I mean, the backdrop is really the fact that they have an incredibly [5:11] close relationship. I mean, Huang has especially been an advisor to President Trump when it comes [5:16] to AI policy. And he is someone who lobbied the president to allow him to sell some of his AI chips [5:22] to China, despite the fact that the president has these huge concerns about China winning this race [5:28] against artificial intelligence. And it really shows how Americans have these very well-founded fears, [5:33] not only in AI's impact on our society, on our environment, but also national security. [5:39] And Huang is facing extreme fallout from this, from his shareholders, from the people that he answers [5:45] to. And I think he's going to continue to face questions about this from Congress. But he already heard [5:49] President Trump really giving him a pass and already getting ahead of the results of that FBI [5:54] investigation and saying he doesn't believe that he'll have any wrongdoing in the situation. [5:58] Speaking of that close relationship, Huang has been to the White House multiple times, [6:03] was there recently with a bunch of other tech CEOs, essentially, you know, supporting the fact [6:09] that the president was saying, oh, this AI doesn't need to be regulated. He's traveled to the president [6:14] with Beijing, is expected to potentially also join the president's upcoming trip to China. [6:20] What do we know about whether or not Hung is still going to join him on the upcoming trip or about [6:27] whether or not the president is being pressed by any of those people in his inner circle to really [6:34] look into this situation? I mean, those are still really open questions. We still don't know whether [6:39] he will continue to be as close of an advisor. China, of course, is dismissing these concerns and [6:44] saying this is simply a smear campaign. But I think the president's relationship with tech CEOs in [6:49] general has always been something that has been under incredible scrutiny. He regularly calls [6:54] and texts with many of these CEOs at a time when Americans really have these poor perceptions of [7:00] tech companies. They do not trust them. They do not trust AI. And yet President Trump continues to [7:05] really understand the stakes of AI in our economy, which continues to really drive huge growth in the [7:11] stock market. And he does not show any desire to really create any distance between him, despite these [7:16] conflict of interest concerns. Before you go, Akela, yesterday was Stephen Miller's first day, [7:21] first official day as President Trump's chief of staff. So what sense are you getting? We have a story [7:28] coming out about this later. I do with our colleague Michael Schnell. But I'm curious what you're hearing [7:34] from your sources about what we can expect from Stephen Miller. The president yesterday has over the last few [7:42] days gone from saying my deportation policy went to was too tough to actually there is not going to be a [7:48] policy change. I mean, so many White House officials really like Susie Wiles and they were bracing for [7:53] this potentially to be the president's move to ultimately appoint him. And we've already seen Richard [7:59] Walters over the weekend, who was the president's deputy chief of staff alongside Stephen Miller exit [8:04] someone who was also an ally of Susie Wiles. I expect to see more people leaving the administration. [8:11] They really understand that Stephen Miller is somebody who endorses the president's most extreme [8:15] policies when it comes to immigration and otherwise. And the president has expressed this openness to [8:21] working with Democrats. And I've been speaking to Democratic lawmakers over the past few days who feel [8:25] that open door that he gave them is no longer the case. Stephen Miller is not somebody who is going to [8:30] be wanting to work across the aisle on the Hill. And yet there's such high stakes for Democrats who really [8:35] want to land wins when it comes to the cost of living and affordability. [8:39] I mean, based on when I covered Stephen Miller, when he was back in the Senate, he did not operate [8:44] well or work well with not just Republicans, not just Democrats, but also Republicans didn't always [8:50] work well with him. So do you think that there's any realm where Democrats are actually going to work [8:56] with the president, given that the signal the president is sending to the Hill with Miller's [9:01] ascension is that the president wants to fight this new Democratic majority? [9:06] And I mean, I think that's why the wiles is so important of it all is because she was seen [9:09] as somebody who could potentially compromise with Democrats. But Stephen Miller has to recognize [9:15] that the president and his party just saw a huge drubbing last week. So things like health care, [9:21] things like tariffs, those are really the areas where the White House should be considering working [9:25] with Democrats. But really, the hope for that, according to the lawmakers that I'm talking to, [9:29] is really not high at all. But perhaps it's something that he will recognize the political [9:34] moment that the White House is in and his party is in going into 2028 that perhaps there's room [9:40] to grow there. MSNOW White House reporter Akayla Gardner, thank you. [9:44] Hey, it's Rachel. I am so glad to see you at the end of that clip because this is where I get to [9:48] tell you about a new way to watch all our clips and all of our shows and everything on MSNOW on your [9:55] phone or your tablet or your laptop. You can watch things live or recorded. Plus, you can ask me and all [10:01] the other hosts and reporters questions in our weekly live chats. You can go to ms.now [10:07] slash membership or just click below. Thanks.