Top Republicans defended President Donald Trump on Wednesday after he declared himself the winner of the 2020 election even as there were millions of ballots left to be counted in several key states, including the critical battleground states of Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Its not unusual for people to claim they have won the election. I can think of that happening on numerous occasions, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said at a news conference in Kentucky.

Im not troubled at all by the president suggesting that, because the other side is doing it too, he added, noting that election disputes are often resolved in the courts.

In a press conference at the White House earlier on Wednesday, Trump attacked the legitimate counting of votes in several states that had not yet finished tallying absentee ballots, baselessly calling the ongoing efforts fraud. He later tweeted to falsely raise alarm about surprise ballot dumps and threatened to take the matter before the Supreme Court.

They are working hard to make up 500,000 vote advantage in Pennsylvania disappear ASAP, Trump said in one tweet.

Officials in Pennsylvania say millions of early votes many from Democratic cities like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have yet to be counted.

Theres nothing illegitimate or fraudulent about counting mail-in ballots. Experts have warned for months that initial results on election night would not accurately reflect vote totals because so many people voted by mail due to the coronavirus pandemic. Republican legislatures in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania all blocked efforts to count ballots early.

Although he generally defended Trump, McConnell gently pushed back on the presidents claim that ballots are being counted illegally. Claiming to win the election is different from finishing the counting, he said.