Trump Tweets He Would Have Won Popular Vote If Not For 'Millions Of People Who Voted Illegally'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/CBS News/AP) -- In tweets Sunday about the push to force recounts in three states, President-elect Donald Trump claimed he would have won the nation's popular vote if it weren't for the "millions of people who voted illegally."
As CBS2's Jessica Layton reported, Trump's Florida Thanksgiving getaway did not help him escape post-election dramas he defended why he believes he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton.
Trump expressed his feelings Sunday afternoon on the "so-called popular vote."
The president-elect has not provided any evidence for his claims, CBS News reported.
Trump won the electoral vote earlier this month by a wide margin, beating out Clinton with 290 votes compared to her 232. CBS News reported. But according to the latest count by the Cook Political Report, which regularly updates its popular vote tally, Trump is currently losing that vote by over 2.2 million, CBS News reported.
"This is a scam by the Green Party for an election that has already been conceded, and the results of this election should be respected instead of being challenged and abused, which is exactly what Jill Stein is doing," he said. "The people have spoken and the election is over."
Until Saturday, Trump had ignored Green Party nominee Jill Stein's fight to revisit vote totals in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. But Democratic rival Hillary Clinton forced his hand today by formally joining the effort.
Clinton's campaign attorney posted a statement online, saying "Now that a recount has been initiated in Wisconsin, we intend to participate in order to ensure the process proceeds in a manner that is fair to all sides. If Jill Stein follows through as she has promised and pursues recounts in Pennsylvania and Michigan, we will take the same approach in those states as well."
Clinton's team said it has not found any evidence of hacking or tampering with election technology and it was not planning on launching its own recount.
Stein, who drew 1 percent of the vote nationally, is raising millions of dollars to fund the recounts.
Wisconsin officials announced Friday that they are moving forward with the first presidential recount in state history.
Trump's transition team on Sunday continued to criticize the recount effort.
"(Clinton) congratulated him and she conceded to him on election night. I was right there," said Trump campaign spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway. "The idea that we are going to drag this out now, where president -- the president-elect -- has been incredibly magnanimous to the Clintons and to the Obamas, is pretty incredible."
Meanwhile, with President-elect Trump back in Manhattan, the Trump transition continues Monday. There are several Cabinet positions still open, including Secretary of State.
The debate about who is fit for Secretary of State has played out mostly behind closed doors. But on Sunday, Conway warned that Trump could anger his most staunch supporters if he chooses Mitt Romney, a Republican who has called Trump both a fraud and a phony this year.
"People feel betrayed to think that Governor Romney, who went out of his way to question the character and the intellect and the integrity of Donald Trump -- now our president-elect -- would be given the most significant cabinet post of all, Secretary of State," Conway said.
Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is also said to be a frontrunner for Secretary of State. Meetings to fill the Cabinet resume on Monday.
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