In an interview with NBC’s Tom Llamas, Trump stated he would acknowledge a GOP loss in November only if the elections meet his definition of ‘honest.’
“I will, if the elections are honest,” Trump said. “I’m the last one that wants to complain. I just had a great election… Won all seven swing states, won 84 percent of the counties in America, that’s why the map is all red.”
“We just had a great election. I believe there was cheating.”
Trump’s remarks come as Republicans face an uphill battle to hold the House. History shows the party in the White House usually loses seats in midterms, and the GOP’s razor-thin majority makes things even tougher. Frustration over Trump’s unpredictable second term could also put the Senate in play for Democrats.
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The president has issued a string of statements that have alarmed election experts. He recently floated the idea of canceling elections entirely and told former FBI deputy director Dan Bongino that Republicans should ‘take over’ the midterms in certain states to ensure there is no voter fraud.
“We should take over the voting, the voting in at least many—15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting,” Trump said.
Article I of the Constitution gives states full control of elections. It’s unclear which 15 states Trump meant, sparking fears of possible interference in the midterms.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Trump, saying he was talking about the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote.
“The president believes in the United States Constitution; however, he believes there has obviously been a lot of fraud and irregularities that have taken place in American elections,” Leavitt said. “And again, voter ID is a highly popular and commonsense policy that the president wants to pursue.”
During his interview, Trump also returned to false claims about the 2020 election, saying states he won “show I didn’t win.” He denied saying “nationalize,” even though he had used the word on Bongino’s podcast, and pushed for voter ID, claiming some areas are “unbelievably corrupt.”
“I said there are some areas in our country that are extremely corrupt. They have very corrupt elections. Take a look at Detroit. Take a look at Philadelphia. Take a look at Atlanta. There are some areas that are unbelievably corrupt,” Trump said.
He argued voter ID is needed to prevent cheating and claimed Democrats oppose it because it would expose their ability to manipulate elections.
Featured image via YouTube screengrab
