Jen O’Malley Dillon, Joseph R. Biden’s campaign manager, said Thursday that President Trump is engaged in a “flailing” strategy to distract and sow doubt in the election results because Mr. Trump knows Mr. Biden will be the next president.
“Because he sees the same data we do and knows he is losing, Donald Trump continues to push a flailing strategy designed to prevent people’s votes from being counted,” Ms. O’Malley Dillon said at an election briefing.
She said the Trump team’s “meritless” legal challenges in various states are meant to “delay what is now inevitable: Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States.”
Mr. Biden has eaten into Mr. Trump’s leads in the key states of Georgia and Pennsylvania.
He was also leading Mr. Trump narrowly in Arizona and Nevada, though Mr. Trump gained ground in Arizona overnight as some ballots from Maricopa County got added to the totals.
The Trump campaign has announced various legal challenges in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Michigan and has said they will demand a recount in Wisconsin.
Mr. Trump also tweeted “STOP THE COUNT!” earlier Thursday before retweeting the message for good measure.
The Associated Press and multiple networks called Michigan and Wisconsin for Mr. Biden on Wednesday.
Ms. O’Malley Dillon said she feels “very, very good” about Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Nevada but that Mr. Biden’s margins in Nevada and Arizona could well narrow or “bounce” around depending on the order in which the states announce the outstanding numbers.
“The story of Arizona is one where Joe Biden is going to win, but it’s going to take some time and patience with the counting,” she said, adding that the final count appears likely to slip at least into Friday. “We will win by tens of thousands of votes, but that margin will close.”
Mr. Trump’s team has strongly disputed calls from The Associated Press and Fox News that Mr. Biden has won Arizona and expressed confidence that the president will eventually overtake the former vice president in the state.
Ms. O’Malley Dillon said Georgia is a “true toss-up” but that it’s leaning toward Mr. Biden at the moment.
“Stay patient and stay calm,” she said. “We are absolutely confident Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States.”
In North Carolina, another outstanding state where Mr. Trump held a narrow lead, officials indicated that the final count might not be finished until late next week.
Mail ballots are counted in North Carolina if they’re postmarked by Nov. 3 and received by Nov. 12.
“I think North Carolina is a little bit tighter, a little bit tougher” than the other four states, Ms. O’Malley Dillon said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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