Trump says he will ‘top’ 306 electoral college votes – adds he will NOT prematurely declare victory

Donald Trump said Tuesday that he will only declare that he has won ‘when there’s a victory’ as he predicts he will win reelection with more Electoral College votes than in 2016.

‘So my number last time was 306,’ Trump said when the ‘Fox & Friends’ panel asked him how many Electoral College votes he thinks he will earn.

‘I ended up with 306, that was good numbers – 223-306,’ he said in reference to the outcome against Hillary Clinton in 2016 – but the Democratic candidate actually earned 232 not 223.

‘And that was a big number,’ the president said. ‘And I think we will top it. I’ll leave it at that. I think we’ll top it.’

According to Cook Political Report, Trump likely holds around 163 Electoral College votes as of now out of those states that are solid, likely and lean Republican. If he were to win all of the Electoral College votes of the states that are deemed a ‘toss up,’ his total would move up to 248.

This means he would need to earn 58 votes from solid, likely or lean Democrats states to even reach the threshold he won at in 2016. 

When Trump was asked during the call-in interview when he will declare he has won the election, the president said ‘only when there’s victory.’ 

‘I mean, there’s no reason to play games. And I think we’ll have victory,’ he said during his interview where he could be heard but not seen. 

‘I look at it as being a very solid chance of winning,’ he continued. ‘I don’t know what the chances are – I don’t know how they rate the chances but I think we have a very solid chance of winning.’

Reports emerged over the weekend with sources claiming the president has extensively discussed his plans for election night, which they say includes declaring victory early.

The Axios report on Sunday said Trump privately discussed in delta plans to walk up to the podium on Tuesday and declare he has won before official Electoral College results are revealed.

Trump denied the claims, stating Sunday: ‘No, no that was a false report,’ after he landed in North Carolina for his third rally of the day.

The president touted Tuesday his hectic campaign schedule in the days leading up to Election Day, which included 14 rallies in three days. And said the massive crowd sizes, which regularly include thousands of loyalists, are proof that he will win reelection. 

‘There was no small event – every place, no matter where we went,’ Trump said of his rallies in the days leading up to the election.

‘I really did six yesterday,’ he claimed. ‘Because the one from the day before went until two in the morning. So then I got up and did one at 8:00 a.m.’

During his rally in Michigan Monday – the last before Election Day – Trump told the crowd: ‘I think we’re going to win everything. I think tomorrow is going to be one of the greatest wins in the history.’

‘This is not the crowd of somebody who is going to lose the state of Michigan,’ he said of the rust belt swing state. ‘This is not the crowd of a second place finisher.’

‘We want a big win. Not just a win. A big win,’ Trump continued.

President Donald Trump, 74, started Election Day off by joining the ‘Fox & Friends’ panel in one of his famous call-in interviews. While the interviews sometimes pan an hour, this time around, he only joined the team for half-an-hour.

He also sounded much more low-energy than usual – possibly indicative of exhaustion following an aggressive and ambitious campaign schedule.

During Trump’s final rally before Election Day Monday night in Michigan, the president sounded hoarse and tired following two back-to-back days of campaigning.

He made stops in several crucial battleground states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan Wisconsin and Florida.

Trump’s final rally on Monday started after midnight following a 14-hour day of campaigning.

He told his crowd of supporters in Michigan not to make him cry as they repeatedly chanted ‘we love you’ as he wrapped up his final pitch for a second term.

‘Don’t make me cry, don’t make me cry,’ Trump, who was wearing a MAGA hat, told his large crowd of supporters as his children, excluding Barron, stood by his side.

‘If I started to cry they’d have a big story,’ he said. ‘They’d say the president broke down and cried, and I don’t know if that’s good for us’M

‘Maybe it brings me up four or five points, but I don’t care,’ Trump added.

He also brought up the line during his interview with Fox Tuesday morning, claiming it was a joke.

‘When the crowd was going, ‘We love you! We love you!’ and then you said, ‘Don’t make me cry,’ – were you a little emotional right then because that could have been the last rally of your political life?’ Fox & Friends co-host Steve Doocy posed.

‘I was kidding actually, but you know, there is a little emotion,’ Trump said. ‘But I’ve said that a few times actually, ‘Don’t make me cry, don’t make me cry. You’ll make me cry and that would be very bad for my image as president.’ And you know, I kid.’

Democratic nominee Joe Biden leads in national polls and in several battleground states crucial for Trump’s victory.

The former vice president is up nationally by 6.7 percentage points in the RealClearPolitics polling average.

This year, however, predictions and polling are likely more reliable than previously as the election has been upended by the coronavirus pandemic – and Tuesday’s race is far from a lock for either candidate.

‘He’s not going to win. I really don’t believe he’s going to win,’ Trump said of Biden Monday night.