Donald Trump has said he will go to the US Supreme Court, claiming that there has been a “massive fraud” in the election - before all the results have even been announced.
In an address to the nation from the White House, Mr Trump has insisted a win is on the cards for Republicans.
In fact, he says the election has already been won, and claims Americans have been defrauded.
Vowing to take the fight to the US Supreme Court, the president said: “This is a fraud on the American public, this is an embarrassment to our country.
“We were getting ready to win this election – frankly we did win this election.
“So our goal now is to ensure the integrity for the good of this nation. This is a very big moment.
“This is a major fraud on our nation.
“We want the law to be used in a proper manner. So we will be going to the US Supreme Court, we want all voting to stop.
“We don’t want them to find any ballots at 4am and add them to the list.”
Earlier, the Democratic challenger, who had long anticipated an attempt by Mr Trump to cast doubt on the result, earlier said that his campaign was still “on track” for victory as he insisted every vote must be counted.
But Mr Trump's speech made clear that he wouldn't be going down without a fight, as he claimed there was was a “massive fraud” in the election and accused a “very sad group of people” of trying to disenfranchise his supporters.
He said: "Our goal now is to ensure the integrity for the good of this nation. This is a very big moment.
“We want the law to be used in a proper manner. So we will be going to the US Supreme Court, we want all voting to stop.”
However, neither candidate has achieved the 270 electoral college votes necessary for victory and counting is still under way in key battleground states including Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia, where Mr Biden hopes to make up ground.
Mr Trump, however, has seized major victories in the key bellwethers of Florida and Ohio, which both have long records of choosing the winner of the White House.
Former vice-president Mr Biden still has clear routes to victory, however, having won a major coup by seizing Arizona, a state that has only backed a Democrat in the race once in 72 years.
Earlier in the night, Mr Biden took to a stage in Delaware to say “we’re feeling good about where we are”, while hoping for gains to follow in the hours and days to come.
“I’m here to tell you tonight, we believe we’re on track to win this election,” he told supporters in his hometown of Wilmington.
“We knew, because of the unprecedented early vote, the mail-in vote, that it’s going to take a while, we’re going to have to be patient.
“It ain’t over until every vote is counted, every ballot is counted.”
But, moments later, Mr Trump, in his first public reaction on the results, tweeted his unsubstantiated claim that his opponents are trying to “steal” the election after a divisive race that has been overshadowed by Covid-19.
He claimed “a big WIN!” in a post that was quickly shielded by Twitter with a warning that the claim was “disputed”, and the social media giant telling users he was making a “potentially misleading claim” about the election.
As many Americans head to bed without knowing who their next president will be, it appears it could take days for the victor to emerge, with officials saying counting could continue throughout the week in the key states of Michigan and Pennsylvania.
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