Amid former president Donald Trump’s push for state audits of the 2020 elections, billboards proclaiming “Trump lost” have popped up in seven states in the US.
The billboards include a photograph of Mr Trump with the caption: “Trump lost, no more election audits.” The billboards have even popped up in states such as Texas and Florida, where he won.
They have been funded by the Republican Accountability Project (RAP), a group that opposes Republican politicians who advocated for Mr Trump’s election audits.
It is a part of the RAP’s multibillion-dollar Republicans for Voting Rights campaign, which calls on state lawmakers to “reject frivolous audits of the 2020 election results”.
The campaign covers states where there is a discussion on election audits, including Georgia, Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Arizona. The billboards were earlier seen in New York City’s Times Square.
The project aims to support those Republicans who are working to defend democratic institutions, and work to unseat those who have tried to overturn a legitimate election and push back against conspiracy theories about rigged elections.
The group also seeks accountability for the 6 January US Capitol Hill attack by Mr Trump’s supporters.
Since losing his re-election bid to Joe Biden last November, Mr Trump has been claiming widespread voter fraud.
But these claims are not borne out by evidence. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in a statement on 12 November last year that the 3 November election “was the most secure in American history”.
Last month, a recount of votes in Arizona organised by Republicans found that Mr Biden did win, and had in fact furthered his lead on Mr Trump in the state in November 2020. In addition, over 60 court cases and state audits have also noted that there was no voter fraud in 2020.
Mr Trump claimed that the “election was stolen” at a 6 January rally at the White House, on the same day Mr Biden’s victory was due to be ratified by Congress. Pro-Trump protesters then marched over to Capitol Hill and attacked police during riots that resulted in the deaths of at least five people, including an officer.
