Trumpers Allege Conspiracy as ABC Appears to Display Election Result
Right-wing conspiracy theorists were jolted to life when a local ABC affiliate appeared to show Kamala Harris winning the battleground state of Pennsylvania over Donald Trump on a ticker running beneath a broadcast of the Formula 1 Mexico Grand Prix on Sunday. The apparent election results—which aired on WNEP-TV, an affiliate in Moosic, Pennsylvania—had the Democrat garnering 52 percent of the votes, with Trump at 47. Current polling has the race for the state’s 19 electors at an exact deadlock. Frenzied social media skeptics were quick to allege massive fraud against Trump: “The cheat is in,” wrote user @TGrammie2 underneath an X with a screenshot of the ticker. “They leaked the script!” added user @JustinSutliffe. After the incident, a broadcaster for the channel said that the numbers were a mistake and did not reflect actual election results, The Daily Mail reported. “The numbers seen on the screen were randomly generated test results sent out to help news organizations make sure their equipment is working properly in advance of election night,” the broadcaster reportedly said. Trump, who alleged fraud after he lost the 2020 election, has urged his supporters to make 2024 “too big to rig.” Trump and Harris continue to campaign feverishly to win Pennsylvania and other battleground states.