The Trump campaign pushed back on Fox News’ Arizona election call late Tuesday night, urging other outlets not to follow their lead and for Fox to “retract their call immediately.”
Fox called the state for former Vice President Joe Biden Tuesday night just three hours after polls closed. At press time, no other outlets had called the state for either candidate. (RELATED: Georgia’s Presidential Election Results Potentially Delayed Until Friday After Pipe Bursts In Room Containing Mail-In Ballots)
Campaign Manager Bill Stepien listens as US President Donald Trump visits his campaign headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, November 3, 2020. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
“WAY too soon to be calling Arizona…way too soon,” Trump campaign senior advisor Jason Miller tweeted following the announcement. “We believe over 2/3 of those outstanding Election Day voters are going to be for Trump. Can’t believe Fox was so anxious to pull the trigger here after taking so long to call Florida. Wow.”
WAY too soon to be calling Arizona…way too soon. We believe over 2/3 of those outstanding Election Day voters are going to be for Trump. Can’t believe Fox was so anxious to pull the trigger here after taking so long to call Florida. Wow.
— Jason Miller (@JasonMillerinDC) November 4, 2020
1/ @FoxNews is a complete outlier in calling Arizona, and other media outlets should not follow suit.
There are still 1M+ Election Day votes out there waiting to be counted – we pushed our people to vote on Election Day, but now Fox News is trying to invalidate their votes!
— Jason Miller (@JasonMillerinDC) November 4, 2020
2/ We only need 61% of the outstanding, uncounted Election Day votes in Arizona to win.
These votes are coming from “our counties,” and the 61% figure is very doable based on what our other Election Day votes are looking like.@FoxNews should retract their call immediately.
— Jason Miller (@JasonMillerinDC) November 4, 2020
A “high level” Trump campaign official reportedly told CNN’s Jim Acosta that the president’s reelection effort is calling other news outlets and urging them not to call Arizona for Biden.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to Daily Caller’s inquiries on Acosta’s claim.
Trump campaign is calling on other outlets to not call AZ for Biden, I’m told by a high level official. https://t.co/oWqbp4V2OG
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) November 4, 2020
While losing Arizona will not definitively lose the election for Trump, the battleground did factor into two of campaign manager Bill Stepien’s three projected path’s to electoral college victory.