ABC’s George Stephanopoulos spars with South Dakota governor on voter fraud conspiracy theories

ABC’s George Stephanopoulos pressed South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) on Sunday when she suggested that President-elect Joe Biden was the beneficiary of “illegal activities” in the election.

Noem during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” said that “people have signed legal documents … stating that they saw illegal activities” and cited New York Times reports of “clerical errors.”

“No widespread fraud, governor. That’s very different,” Stephanopoulos responded.

“We gave Al Gore 37 days to runs the process before we decided who was going to be president. Why would we not afford the 70.6 million Americans that voted for President Trump the same consideration?” Noem responded, referring to the 2000 Democratic nominee.

Pressed by @GStephanopoulos on whether she has any evidence to support Pres. Trump’s election claims, GOP North Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem does not provide any evidence, but also refuses to acknowledge that Joe Biden as the apparent winner of the presidency. https://t.co/RxWyF4Jwuf pic.twitter.com/VMNUeml0On

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) November 8, 2020

Stephanopoulos pointed out that Gore was behind by 500 votes in a single state in the 2000 election, while Biden leads in multiple states by tens of thousands of votes.

“That is not close. That is not within the margin that elections are usually turned around on,” he said.

“This isn’t just about this election. This is about every election in the future and the fact that the American people, the everyday people who get up and work hard, that are suffering through this pandemic, that have tragically lost family members, that they need to know at least America still functions and we care about doing things right,” Noem responded.

“It starts with providing evidence. You still have not provided it,” Stephanopoulos responded.