Former President Donald Trump, who in current days has been attacking Vice President Kamala Harris for not being on the marketing campaign path a lot as he has, escalated his rhetoric this week by repeatedly floating a baseless conspiracy concept that his opponent took a day without work within the important ultimate stretch till Election Day as a result of she would possibly already know “one thing” concerning the outcomes, sowing mistrust within the election.
“You already know the place Kamala is at this time? They do not wish to let you know. No, no, no. You do not know the place she’s. She’s sleeping. Took a day without work,” Trump started shortly after taking the stage at his marketing campaign rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Tuesday night, persevering with his line of assaults primarily based on the truth that she did not maintain any public marketing campaign occasions 14 days out from Election Day, regardless that her marketing campaign says she was taking the day to prep for and take part in two main community interviews.
“We have now 14 days [until] an important election within the historical past of our nation … How do you are taking a day without work? Fourteen days,” Trump continued.
Then he advised baselessly that “possibly she is aware of one thing that we do not know. You assume she is aware of some type of consequence that we do not learn about? Perhaps she is aware of one thing,” he implied with out getting particular earlier than rapidly backtracking, “I doubt it. She’s unhealthy information.”
He doubled down on this baseless rhetoric on Wednesday night time in entrance of a large crowd of greater than 10,000 at a rally in Duluth, Georgia, repeating the road, “Perhaps she is aware of one thing we do not know. That is unhealthy, proper?”
He then additional put in the concept, asking, “Does everyone perceive that?” The gang cheered and responded, “Sure.”
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks throughout a marketing campaign rally at Greensboro Coliseum, Oct. 22, 2024, in Greensboro, N.C.
Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
It was the newest within the lengthy line of Trump’s feedback undermining the general public’s belief within the U.S. election system over the previous couple of years, alongside along with his baseless accusations of his political opponents “dishonest,” fixed bashing of mail-in voting and continued push for the necessity for his supporters to “shield the vote.”
His rhetoric on election integrity has deeply affected lots of his supporters’ notion of the U.S. election system with many citizens at Trump rallies over the previous two years telling ABC Information that they do not belief the election system.
Trump’s repeated feedback that he’ll settle for the outcomes of the 2024 election “provided that it is honest and authorized” has fueled such mistrust amongst his supporters — a baseless suggestion of the chance that the present election may not be “honest.”
Simply over the weekend, Trump, answering press questions by a Pennsylvania McDonald’s drive via window throughout a marketing campaign picture op there mentioned, “Yeah positive, if it is a honest election. At all times. I am going to all the time settle for it if it is a honest election,” when requested if would settle for the results of the 2024 election.
And through a podcast with right-wing commentator Patrick Guess-David launched final week, Trump baselessly claimed: “If the election’s not rigged, we will win. Whether it is rigged, I suppose that is a unique story, however we’ll discover out fairly quickly.”
On Monday, Trump, at a press convention throughout his go to to a hurricane-damaged a part of North Carolina, acknowledged that he had not seen any proof to counsel that the 2024 presidential election wouldn’t be honest.
Later that day at a marketing campaign rally in Greensboro, Trump mentioned his hand-picked Republican Nationwide Committee Chairman Michael Whatley will “cease the dishonest” by his political opponents.
Nonetheless, all through the election cycle, Trump has been elevating baseless questions concerning the present election system and continued to falsely declare that the 2020 election was “rigged” — fueling mistrust and concern amongst voters.
“The elections are so screwed up. We have now to get again in and we have now to alter all of it,” Trump falsely mentioned throughout a marketing campaign rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in August. “We wish to go to paper ballots. We wish to go to same-day voting. We wish to go to citizenship papers. And we wish to go to voter ID. It is quite simple. We wish to eliminate mail-in voting.”
Folks stand in line at a polling place on the primary day of early in-person voting in Black Mountain, N.C., Oct. 17, 2024.
Stephanie Scarbrough/AP
Trump has pushed blended messaging on mail-in voting, usually baselessly calling it “corrupt” and “rigged” at the same time as his marketing campaign and the RNC try to revive belief within the election system and urge voters to embrace all forms of voting strategies to maximise voter turnout for the final election.
“We’re spending a really important quantity of our time defending the vote,” Whatley mentioned in June when requested about Trump’s disparaging feedback on mail-in voting. “We’re recruiting tons of of hundreds of volunteers that we will recruit and practice and ensure that we deploy to function observers, ballot employees and full judges all throughout the nation.”
Nonetheless, the previous president’s disparaging rhetoric carried on the next month with Trump falsely claiming at a city corridor in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: “The mail-in voting is not working. It is corrupt. However till then, Republicans should win.”
Trump has been more and more softening his tone on mail-in voting in current weeks as states kick off mail-in voting. Nonetheless, on the identical time, Trump has baselessly questioned the voting technique and proven reluctance to forged ballots by mail-in voting.
“I do not really feel assured when you’ve mail-in voting,” Trump mentioned throughout an interview with Fox Information’ Maria Bartiromo earlier this month, claiming that different nations have had points with mail-in voting. Trump clarified that he does not wish to discourage individuals from voting, including, “look, we have now to win the election now.”
Final month, Trump even threatened to prosecute “to the fullest extent” those that “cheat” within the 2024 election, falsely claiming in a social media publish that Democrats engaged in “rampant Dishonest and Skullduggery” throughout the 2020 presidential election.
“Due to this fact, the 2024 Election, the place Votes have simply began being forged, will likely be below the closest skilled scrutiny and, WHEN I WIN, these those who CHEATED will likely be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Legislation, which can embrace long run jail sentences in order that this Depravity of Justice doesn’t occur once more,” Trump wrote partially on his social media platform.
“These concerned in unscrupulous habits will likely be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at ranges, sadly, by no means seen earlier than in our Nation,” he continued.
The Trump marketing campaign mentioned Trump is evident in that he desires “free and honest elections.”
“President Trump has all the time been clear: we should have free and honest elections or else we can’t have a rustic,” Karoline Leavitt, a marketing campaign spokesperson, mentioned in an announcement to ABC Information. “That is why the RNC and the Trump Marketing campaign have launched the biggest election integrity program in historical past.”
Harris has been reviving messaging about Trump’s supposed risk to American democracy as a part of an argument — regularly heard in her stump speeches — that Trump is unfit for workplace. A part of that argument is that Trump refuses to simply accept he misplaced the 2020 election and the identical might occur once more.
Earlier this month, Trump’s working mate, Sen. JD Vance, mentioned he doesn’t imagine Trump misplaced the 2020 election. Harris’ marketing campaign fired again, saying “Trump selected JD Vance to be his working mate for one motive and one motive solely: He’ll do what Mike Pence would not and put Donald Trump over our Structure.”
“[Vance’s] refusal to acknowledge the easy proven fact that Donald Trump misplaced the 2020 election is proof that if Trump wins, there will likely be nobody left to examine his worst instincts and cease him from gaining unprecedented, unchecked energy to do no matter he desires and put our nation in danger,” Harris marketing campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika mentioned in an announcement.
On the presidential debate stage, Trump was given a chance to acknowledge he misplaced the 2020 election — however didn’t take it.
ABC Information moderator David Muir learn aloud current quotes from the previous president by which he appeared to confess being defeated by President Joe Biden, together with final week when he mentioned he “misplaced by a whisker.”
“I mentioned that?” Trump responded. He went on to say that such remarks have been sarcastic and that he didn’t, actually, settle for his loss.
Trump has gone on to repeat the false claims he “misplaced by a whisker” at current marketing campaign occasions.
At marketing campaign rallies, Trump’s message to his supporters going into the ultimate stretch of the election has been to make it “too large to rig.”
“We have now to have a landslide of an election that is too large to rig. Early voting is underway. So get everybody you recognize, get your mates, get your loved ones, get Alice to get her husband, who simply is not going to get off that sofa,” Trump mentioned at a marketing campaign rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Tuesday.
Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump factors at supporters at a marketing campaign rally on the Greensboro Coliseum on Oct. 22, 2024 in Greensboro, N.C.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Photographs
Trump supporters throughout the nation are already deeply skeptical of the American election system, repeating numerous false and debunked claims that the previous president and his allies have pushed over time.
Garrett Spratley of Reno, Nevada, who attended Trump’s rally there earlier this month, mentioned he believes the 2020 election was stolen from Trump and that he is nonetheless involved about voting machines, regardless of election officers and specialists throughout the nation repeatedly denouncing such issues.
Nonetheless, he believes Trump goes to win Nevada “in a landslide” this yr as a result of extra individuals are going to vote for him.
“So I believe that as a result of there are such a lot of extra individuals which might be going to vote for him on this election than the final one, and I imagine he gained the final one in Nevada and all through the nation, I believe he’ll win Nevada in a landslide for positive, if there is not any fraud,” Spratley mentioned.
Dave Glaz from Oak Creek, Wisconsin, who attended a Trump rally in Racine, Wisconsin, this summer season, expressed skepticism about mail-in voting and mentioned he desires to see a stricter voter ID regulation. He mentioned he hopes the Republican Celebration can pay nearer consideration to forestall any fraud.
Requested if he would settle for the outcomes of the election both manner, he mentioned: “I might be very — I imply, I must settle for it. I’ve no selection, however I am very skeptical.”
Dave Nace of Apollo, Pennsylvania, who attended Trump’s second rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, earlier this yr, mentioned he is skeptical of the election system as a result of he doesn’t belief the federal government.
“I believe it must be vote solely on the day of the election, paper ballots. That is the one approach to make it absolutely safe,” Nace mentioned.
Requested if he’d settle for election outcomes after November, he mentioned: “We have now to simply accept it as a result of we’re in America, however hopefully this nation will do what’s proper.”
