Hillary Clinton says if the November election is close, Joe Biden should not concede to President Donald Trump "under any circumstances."
In an interview for Showtime's "The Circus," Clinton warned of the potential legal battle ahead if the electoral college results between Trump and Biden are close. She claimed Republicans will be ready to challenge absentee ballots.
"We've got to have a massive legal operation -- I know the Biden campaign is working on that. We have to have poll workers, and I urge people who are able to be a poll worker," Clinton said. "We have to have our own teams of people to counter the force of intimidation that the Republicans and Trump are going to put outside polling places."
Clinton said she believes the election results will drag out but that Biden will ultimately come out on top "if we don't give an inch and we are as focused and relentless as the other side is."
Clinton knows first-hand about close presidential elections. In 2016, she lost to Trump in the electoral college, 304-227. But Clinton won the popular vote by more than 2.8 million votes out of 128 million cast. Trump won three key states -- Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin -- by a total of approximately 77,000 votes.
"It all comes down to the electoral college, Clinton said.
On the other side, Trump has told supporters in recent weeks that he believes the only way Republicans lose is if it's an unfair election.
"The only way they can take this election away from us is if this is a rigged election," Trump told delegates at the opening of the Republican National Convention Monday. Trump, as recently as July 19, refused to commit to accepting the results of the election.
Trump made a similar claim before the 2016 election, saying he would wait for the outcome before deciding whether he accepted it.
Tens of millions of Americans are expected to vote by mail in November due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump has claimed it will lead to massive fraud. Experts say mail voting -- which five states do exclusively -- has proven remarkably secure.
The interview with Clinton was conducted by Jennifer Palmieri, a contributor to "The Circus." She served as White House Communications Director during the Obama administration and was the communications director for Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
