Donald Trump says ‘cheating’ is only way Hillary Clinton can win Pennsylvania

Republican nominee escalates rigging claims three months ahead of US election

Donald Trump takes to the stage at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, on August 12 (Getty)

Donald Trump has said the only way he can lose to his rival Hillary Clinton in the state of Pennsylvania is if the vote is rigged against him.

With the election three months away, a recent Quinnipiac poll indicated Mr Trump is trailing to Ms Clinton in Pennsylvania by 52 per cent to 42 per cent.

But, speaking at a rally in the state, Mr Trump said: “We're going to watch Pennsylvania. Go down to certain areas and watch and study and make sure other people don't come in and vote five times.

“If you do that, we're not going to lose. The only way we can lose, in my opinion, and I really mean this, Pennsylvania, is if cheating goes on. I really believe it.

“I looked over Pennsylvania and I’m studying it. And we have some great people here. Some great leaders here of the Republican Party, and they’re very concerned about that, and that’s the way we can lose the state, and we have to call up law enforcement, and we have to have the sheriffs and the police chiefs and everybody watching.”

A Republican win in Pennsylvania would be a major feat for Mr Trump. The last win for the party in a presidential election in the state came in 1988 for George H W Bush.

But Mr Trump is confident he can beat Ms Clinton in the state, which has a large base of the working class voters his campaign has targeted.

“If we get cheated out of this election, if we get cheated out of a win in Pennsylvania, which is such a vital state, especially when I know what’s happening here, folks, I know ... She can’t beat what’s happening here," he added.

Pennsylvania does not require voters to produce photo identification in order to vote after a judge struck down the requirement in 2014, something Mr Trump has pounced on as a means by which vote rigging could occur.

He urged his supporters to “make sure that it’s 100 per cent fine, because without voter identification – which is shocking, shocking that you don’t have it ..."

Mr Trump has repeatedly said the November election will be rigged.

At an Ohio rally at the beginning of the month he told supporters: “I’m afraid the election’s gonna be rigged. I have to be honest.”