President Barack Obama told Donald Trump on Tuesday to “stop whining” about the possibility of voter fraud in November’s US election, as the Republican nominee continued to claim that the race was “rigged”.
Both Democrats and Republicans worry that Mr Trump’s comments might undermine voters’ trust in the integrity of the American electoral system and lead to unrest at polling stations, or calls for a recount if Mr Trump loses.
“There is no serious person out there who would suggest somehow that you could even rig America’s elections, in part because they’re so decentralised and the number of votes involved,” Mr Obama said during a White House press conference with Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi.
“There’s no evidence that that has happened in the past or that there are instances in which that will happen this time. And so, I’d advise Mr Trump to stop whining and go try to make his case to get votes.”
Mr Trump’s claims of potential voter fraud comes as the Republican nominee continues to falter in the polls following allegations from multiple women that he had forcefully kissed or groped them, something he boasted of doing in a 2005 video.
Since the video emerged on October 7, Mr Trump’s favourability rating has tumbled by 6 percentage points, according to an average of Real Clear Politics polls.