Monica Palmer, a Republican election canvasser in Wayne County, Mich., told the Washington Post on Thursday that she received a personal call from President Trump this week.
Why it matters: Palmer and her GOP counterpart, William Hartmann, voted in favor of certifying the county's election results on Tuesday, but later attempted to rescind their decision after claiming that Democrats backed out of a promise to audit votes. That certification in Michigan's most-populous county helped to cement President-elect Biden's win in the swing state.
- The certified election results from the county, which contains Detroit, have already been sent to Michigan's secretary of state.
- Biden won Michigan over Trump by nearly 150,000 votes.
What she's saying: Palmer told the Post that Trump only expressed concern about her and Hartmann's safety. "There were general comments about different states but we really didn’t discuss the details of the certification," she said.
- Critics say it's inappropriate of Trump to contact a canvasser directly, as he could impose pressure on their decision-making.
The big picture: Trump and his campaign are seeking to discredit election tallies in Michigan and other key swing states that flipped to Biden this cycle as the president has engaged in baseless and unproven claims of widespread voter fraud that affected their results.
- Secretaries of state and election officials across the nation have reported no instances of widespread voter fraud, whether through in-person or mail-in voting.
