Prseident Trump in Oval Office
Prseident Trump in Oval OfficeOfficial White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian

US President Donald Trump on Sunday denied a report in the Axios website which claimed he would declare premature victory in Tuesday’s election.

At the same time, he signaled that Republicans would mount legal challenges to prevent ballots from being counted after Election Day.

“I think it’s a terrible thing when ballots can be collected after an election. I think it’s a terrible thing when people or states are allowed to tabulate ballots for a long period of time after the election is over, because it can only lead to one thing,” Trump told reporters in Charlotte, N.C., according to The Hill, criticizing decisions by the Supreme Court to allow ballots to be received after Election Day in several battleground states.

“I think there is great danger to it, and I think a lot of fraud and misuse can take place,” Trump continued. “We’re going to go in the night of – as soon as the election is over – we’re going in with our lawyers.”

The Axios report claimed that Trump planned to declare victory prematurely if he appears to be leading Democratic nominee Joe Biden on election night.

Trump dismissed the report as “false.”

Biden responded to the Axios report earlier Sunday, telling reporters, "My response is the president is not going to steal this election."