Trump claims 'unusual patterns' in midterms as little-known rule could strip him of presidential powers without impeachment
Donald Trump has shared a number of posts questioning the validity of the midterm election results just days after stating he had accepted the outcome.
The US president has sparked controversy by sharing claims of 'unusual' voting patterns after the landslide midterms saw the Democrats take control of both chambers of Congress.
The 80-year-old took to Truth Social over the weekend, where he shared several charts which attempt to cast doubt over the Democrats' victories in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
However, none of the content aimed at casting aspersions actually provided any evidence of wrongdoing or election fraud.
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The bizarre move comes just days after Trump told The New York Times he was 'absolutely willing' to accept the results of the midterm elections, telling the reporter: "We'll work with the Democrats, and we'll, you know, look forward to working with them. We'll probably work something out."
Among the posts shared over the weekend was a message from an account called The Lone Raccoon, which included a graph showing the candidates' total number of votes rising during election night.
This visual highlighted a number of sharp increases for the Democratic candidates, which can often happen when election officials release large batches of counted ballots.
"Honest question. Does anyone believe this at all?" the account questioned, adding: "Still votes to count but... d*mn..."
Another post referenced the number of people who turned out to vote in the midterms, with one claiming an extraordinary surge in Democratic votes across the whole of the US.
The account holder, called Kevin Bass, said: "Republican votes stayed the same. Democrats materialized 20 million new votes," alongside a bar chart comparing the House elections in 2022 and 2026.
It showed Republicans receiving 54.2 million votes in 2022 compared with a projected 55.6 million this year.
But the Democratic figures appeared dramatically different, rising from 51.3 million in 2022 to a projected 70.4 million in 2026.
Meanwhile, as Trump appears to still somewhat be in denial about the midterm elections, many of his critics have been talking about a little known rule that could be used to remove him as president without impeachment.
Once the new Congress has been sworn in in the new year, the Democrats could help invoke Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from his post.
What is Section 4 of the 25th Amendment?
According to information published on Congress.gov, Section 4 of the 25th Amendment outlines what should happen if a president becomes unable to carry out their responsibilities but is unable or unwilling to acknowledge it themselves.
The provision was proposed in 1965 before officially becoming law in 1967. Despite being in place for almost six decades, Section 4 has never been invoked.
By comparison, Section 3 deals with situations where a president voluntarily declares themselves unfit to perform their duties, such as following an unexpected illness or ahead of a planned medical procedure.
Congress.gov also notes that this could potentially extend to other circumstances, including a president being outside the country or experiencing an intense period of grief following the death of someone close to them.
Topics: Donald Trump, US News, Politics
Emma Rosemurgey
