If President Donald Trump wins Florida by a wide margin it will bode well him for the rest of the evening, but if he loses Florida, "it's probably over," former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said Tuesday.
"I would look first to Florida tonight," Mulvaney said on CNBC's "Squawk Box." "Florida closes (its polls) at 7 p.m., most of the state does. They'll get most of the early ballots counted in early. If the president wins Florida by a wide margin, it bears well for him the rest of the night. If he loses Florida, it's probably over. It's one of those things to look for if you're looking for something to watch."
Mulvaney noted that while polls had just a few weeks ago placed Democrat nominee Joe Biden ahead by several percentage points in key states, the polls are starting to narrow.
He added that Trump and others around him feel "very good" about Florida and Ohio.
"It's why you have seen the president spend so much time in Pennsylvania, and Michigan and Minnesota," said Mulvaney. "Politicians, it's usually good advice to watch what they do more than what they say. There's a reason no one really believes Texas is in play because Joe Biden hasn't been to Texas. If he thought he could win Texas, he would be in Texas."
Meanwhile, he said he's surprised Trump's comments about taking legal action concerning the vote count is getting so much attention because that is the "ordinary course of business" for every campaign.
"Election laws are so arcane and so complex, and they vary from state to state, and sometimes from county to county," said Mulvaney. "It's not unusual at all to have lawyers in place "
Mulvaney also said he doesn't expect there to be massive unrest nationally if the president wins reelection.
"I have been traveling in all of the swing states, five or six states in the last week," said Mulvaney. "People want this to be over. They're very interested in the outcome but I don't feel like either side is going to take to the streets if they lose tonight."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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