Election analysts overwhelmingly expect Donald Trump to lose the presidential race in less than two weeks, but his strongest supporters say they believe just the opposite will occur.

They find solace in the Republican’s fiery attacks on “rigged” polls and buy his theories of a wide-ranging conspiracy between Democrats and the media to fix the Nov. 8 results.

“If he loses, yes, I’ll know it was rigged,” said Robin Chason of Quincy, Florida.

Some say there could be violence and unrest if Trump followers believe he lost amid foul play.

“It’s going to be – I don’t want to say anarchy – but something close,” said Tony Bynum, 55, of Panama City, Florida.

“Trump’s going to win. The media is lying,” Bynum said.

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“I’m afraid to think what’s going to happen” if Trump loses, Bynum said, floating a “very distinct possibility” there won’t be a peaceful transition of power.

President Obama is helping rig the election on behalf of Democrat Hillary Clinton, said Larry Meots, 65, of Jacksonville, North Carolina. “He’s had a lot to do with the cover-up,” he said.

Conversations with dozens of Trump rally-goers this week in Florida and North Carolina revealed that Trump’s disaffected base, united by a belief that U.S. elites have forgotten them, is revved up by their candidate’s conspiratorial warnings about mischief against them at the highest levels of society.

“I think it could get ugly,” said Caleb Zufall of Tallahassee, who works in law enforcement. “My biggest concern is with the media. If Trump wins, I’m afraid they’re going to absolutely refuse to get behind him, refuse to report it. They’re going to incite violence.”

Trump backers are quick to dismiss polls showing Clinton with a consistent lead in enough states to win her the presidency, which have caused forecasters to rate her odds of victory at 86 percent or higher.

“I think it’s a bunch of bull—- propaganda,” said Fred Jones, 71, of Atlanta. “I don’t believe it.”

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“You just can’t believe that crap,” said Russell Taylor of Thomasville, Georgia, a Trump campaign co-chair.

“Trump’s gonna win. He’s gonna blow her out,” Taylor said, citing a panoply of pro-Trump yard signs and more enthusiasm for him than for Clinton in his personal conversations. “You get a feel for things.”

A recent Morning Consult poll found that 81 percent of Trump supporters say the election could be stolen from them as a result of pervasive voter fraud, even though studies find examples of it to be extremely rare. Trump has refused to commit to conceding the election if Clinton is deemed the winner.

“The Marxists in this country have taken over our mainstream media,” said Ron Childress, 76, from the Atlanta area, at the Tallahassee rally. “They’ve infiltrated our education and institutions to the point where, if we don’t win now, we become either a banana republic or a Marxist regime.”


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