US president questions midterm results without providing evidence of fraud

US President Donald Trump has questioned the integrity of the midterm election results after previously congratulating Democrats and saying he accepted the outcome. His November 9 social-media posts alleged problems with early-voting totals but provided no evidence of fraud or wrongdoing, according to the report.

Trump asked whether the election had been honest and why opinion polls had been wrong. Polling differences do not themselves establish fraud. The report said surveys generally anticipated a strong Democratic performance, although many understated the party's eventual margins.

A polling analysis cited in the report found that pre-election data understated the Democratic margin by at least two percentage points in 23 of 27 governor and Senate races. That concerns the accuracy of polling estimates, not proof that ballots were improperly cast or counted.

The comments followed a Sunday interview in which Trump confirmed he had congratulated Democrats and said he was willing to work with their incoming congressional majority. Democrats won control of both chambers, with some close races still determining the scale of their gains.

Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer criticised the comments as a return to election denial. Conservative commentator Megyn Kelly also publicly urged Trump to stop. Those reactions are their responses to his claims; the report did not present evidence supporting the fraud allegations.