Washington, Oct 23 — US President Donald Trump on Friday alleged widespread voting fraud in California and questioned election practices in Minnesota and other states.
Speaking on the White House South Lawn before departing for a campaign rally in Florida, Trump suggested that the scale of alleged irregularities in California could be far greater than an initial figure of 20,000 votes mentioned during the interaction.
"I'm not surprised you could be hundreds of thousands," Trump said, according to the supplied transcript of the exchange.
He then referred to what he described as a batch of fraudulent votes in California.
"20,000 absolutely fraudulent in California for voting," Trump said.
The President went on to suggest that the number could rise substantially.
"And it could be a hundred thousand it could be three, four, five hundred thousand," he said.
He also criticised voting practices in California and Minnesota.
"California's very corrupt voting so is Minnesota so are many other states," he said.
Trump's remarks came as Republicans and Democrats intensified campaigning ahead of the November midterm elections, with control of Congress at stake.
During the broader exchange, the President was also asked about high levels of early voting in several states considered important to Republican efforts to retain control of the Senate.
The states mentioned included Texas, Ohio and North Carolina.
Trump acknowledged uncertainty about which party was benefiting from the early voting figures.
"Who do you think that early voting is? Nobody knows," he said.
He nevertheless expressed confidence in Republican prospects and pointed to what he described as strong enthusiasm at his recent campaign appearances.
The President cited his visit to Iowa as evidence of support for Republican candidates and maintained that his rallies were attracting large crowds.
He did not provide figures showing how early votes were divided between Republican and Democratic supporters.
His comments brought together two separate election issues: allegations about the integrity of voting procedures and uncertainty over the political implications of early turnout.