Donald Trump tells supporters the November election will be 'rigged'

Should he lose, he is setting the tone for contesting the final results

Jay Laprete/Getty

Although the general election is more than three months away, Donald Trump is already declaring shenanigans and assuring his supporters that if he loses, it is because a fix is in.

“I’m afraid the election’s gonna be rigged,” the Republican nominee said at a Columbus, Ohio, rally on Monday. “I have to be honest.”

Mr Trump echoed his earlier claims that the primaries were rigged after his loss in Iowa to Texas senator Ted Cruz. He continued claims that the primaries were slanted against him in spite of the fact that he dominated in most states. Nonetheless, he attributed overcoming of the insurmountable “fixed” system to his “landslide” victories.

“I think my side was rigged. If I didn’t win by massive landslides,” he said, adding that he hears “more and more” that the 8 November election will rigged.

The New York business tycoon appears to be setting the tone in the event he loses to rival Hillary Clinton in November – which would make him the first presidential candidate to contest the results of a national election.

After Barack Obama beat Mitt Romney in 2012, Mr Trump lashed out on Twitter with a similar message that the outcome of the election was illegitimate.

“The electoral college is a disaster for democracy,” he said in a series of tweets in 2012. “This election is a total sham and a travesty. We are not a democracy!”

Mr Trump’s declaration comes after he has received days of negative press after his very public feud with Khizr and Ghazala Khan – Muslim parents of the fallen soldier Humayun Khan, who was killed fighting in the Iraq war in 2004.