'This is not American democracy as people normally see it': BBC presenter delivers a brutal assessment of Trump's behavior as election votes are being counted in the US

• BBC presenter Ros Atkins delivered a brutal assessment of President Donald Trump's efforts to claim fraud as several states continue to tally votes in the US presidential election.
• "International election observers are accusing the president of a gross abuse of office," Atkins said.
• Trump has made several false claims and multiple calls to stop vote counts in several key states as the margins between him and Joe Biden tighten in some key battleground states.

A BBC presenter delivered a biting critique of President Donald Trump's behavior as several US states continue to tally votes in this year's presidential election, and as Trump repeatedly rails against the process while his chances of reelection dwindle.

"Now, Donald Trump repeatedly attacked America's democratic process during the campaign so the last two days are not entirely a surprise, but reaction around the world shows us, the president still has the capacity to shock," Ros Atkins said.

—Ros Atkins (@BBCRosAtkins) November 5, 2020

Trump falsely declared victory early Wednesday even though votes were still being counted, and then called for vote counts to stop. His reelection campaign brought forward lawsuits in several key states like Michigan and Pennsylvania to stop vote counting.

"The counting of votes after election day is a standard part of the electoral process," Atkins said. "International election observers are accusing the president of a gross abuse of office."

The president also falsely claimed there was electoral fraud, saying, with no evidence, that the election is being stolen. Members of his campaign, including his son Eric Trump pushed verifiably false assertions that ballots were being burned.

Leaders across the world were also shocked by Trump's behavior, and some compared what's happening in the US to something they'd expect from undemocratic nations.

German parliamentarian Norbert Röttgen told NPR that Trump's attempt to claim he won the election when he clearly had not showed "a total lack of respect for the law."

"For better or for worse, this is not American democracy as people normally see it," Atkins said.

Trump echoed the same remarks he's made since Tuesday in a televised speech on Thursday from the White House press briefing room, further undermining the democratic process.

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper described Trump's demeanor as similar to that of "an obese turtle on his back, flailing in the hot sun."