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.”
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.
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.
