Highlights:
Trump Told Zelensky He Wanted Ukraine To Investigate CrowdStrike And The People Involved With The Russia Investigation. According to Trump in the transcript of the phone call, “I would like you to do us a favor though because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it. I would like you to find out what happened with this whole situation with Ukraine, they say CrowdStrike…I guess you have one of your wealth people…The server, they say Ukraine has it. There are a lot of things that went on, the whole situation. I think you’re surrounding yourself with some of the same people. I would like to have the Attorney General call you or your people and I would like you to get to the bottom of it. As you saw yesterday, that who nonsense ended with a very poor performance by a man named Robert Mueller, and incompetent performance, but they say a lot of it started with Ukraine. Whatever you can do, it’s very important that you do it if that’s possible.” [Trump-Ukraine Phone Call Transcript via Politico, 9/25/19]
Trump Pressed President Zelensky To Look Into Joe Biden And His Son With Attorney General Barr. According to Trump in the transcript of the phone call, “The other thing, there’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it…It sounds horrible to me.” [Trump-Ukraine Phone Call Transcript via Politico, 9/25/19]
Trump: We Do A Lot For Ukraine…And I Wouldn’t Say That It’s Reciprocal. According to Trump in the transcript of the phone call, “I will say that we do a lot for Ukraine. We spend a lot of effort and a lot of time. Much more than the European countries are doing and they should be helping you more than they are […] A lot of the European countries are the same way so I think it’s something you want to look at but the United States has been very very good to Ukraine. I wouldn’t say that it’s reciprocal necessarily because things are happening that are not good but the United States has been very very good to Ukraine.” [Trump-Ukraine Phone Call Transcript via Politico, 9/25/19]
Before The Call With Zelensky, Trump Ordered His Chief Of Staff To Hold $400 Million In Military Aid For Ukraine. According to the Washington Post, “President Trump told his acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, to hold back almost $400 million in military aid for Ukraine at least a week before a phone call in which Trump is said to have pressured the Ukrainian president to investigate the son of former vice president Joe Biden, according to three senior administration officials. Officials at the Office of Management and Budget relayed Trump’s order to the State Department and the Pentagon during an interagency meeting in mid-July, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. They explained that the president had ‘concerns’ and wanted to analyze whether the money needed to be spent.” [Trump-Ukraine Phone Call Transcript via Politico, 9/25/19]
VIDEO: Trump Publicly “Recommended” That President Zelensky Start An Investigation Into Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden And His Son Hunter. According to a Trump press gaggle via YouTube, “TRUMP: So, I would say that President Zelensky - if it were me, I would recommend that they start an investigation into the Bidens. Because nobody has any doubt that they weren't crooked. That was a crooked deal – 100%. He had no knowledge of energy; didn't know the first thing about it. All of a sudden, he’s getting $50,000 a month, plus a lot of other things. Nobody has any doubt. And they got rid of a prosecutor, who was a very tough prosecutor. They got rid of him. Now they're trying to make it the opposite way. But they got rid - so, if I were the president, I would certainly recommend that of Ukraine.” [Trump Press Gaggle via YouTube, 10/3/19]
Trump Also Called On China To Investigate Biden And His Son. According to the New York Times, “President Trump, already facing impeachment for pressuring Ukraine to investigate his political rivals, publicly called on China on Thursday to examine former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. as well, an extraordinary request for help from a foreign power that could benefit him in next year’s election. ‘China should start an investigation into the Bidens, because what happened in China is just about as bad as what happened with Ukraine,’ Mr. Trump told reporters as he left the White House to travel to Florida. His request came just moments after he discussed upcoming trade talks with China and said that ‘if they don’t do what we want, we have tremendous power.’” [New York Times, 10/3/19]
July 2016: Trump Asked Russia To Find Hillary’s Emails During Press Conference. According to the New York Times, “In a news conference in July 2016, Donald J. Trump made a direct appeal to Russia to hack Hillary Clinton’s emails and make them public. ‘Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,’ Mr. Trump said, referring to emails Mrs. Clinton had deleted from the private account she had used when she was secretary of state. ‘I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.’” [New York Times, 7/13/18]
Trump Later Suggested His Plea To Russia Was A Joke. According to CNN, “President Donald Trump recently claimed he was joking when he asked the Russians to hack Hillary Clinton’s emails during the 2016 campaign. […] He revisited that controversial call Saturday during his wide-ranging speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, suggesting it was all a joke to rouse an audience. ‘If you tell a joke, if you’re sarcastic, if you’re having fun with the audience, if you’re on live television with millions of people and 25,000 people in an arena,’ Trump said, before re-enacting his 2016 comments. ‘If you say something like, ‘Russia, please, if you can, get us Hillary Clinton’s emails. Please, Russia, please. Please get us the emails. Please!’” [CNN, 3/5/19]
Trump Urged Ukrainian President To Help AG Barr Investigate Democratic Presidential Candidate Biden And His Son. According to Politico, ‘President Donald Trump urged Ukraine’s president to work with Attorney General William Barr on a potential investigation into Joe Biden, according to a White House readout of a July call, adding a damaging new dimension to the scandal that is engulfing Trump’s presidency […] According to the five-page document, Trump pressed newly elected President Volodymyr Zelensky to work with Barr and Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney, on a corruption investigation into the former vice president and his son Hunter […] ‘There is a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution, and a lot of people want to find out about that,’ Trump told Zelensky, according to the White House document. ‘So whatever you can do with the attorney general would be great.’’ [Politico, 9/25/19]
Barr Held Private Meetings Overseas With Foreign Intelligence Officials Asking For Help With A Justice Department Inquiry Meant To Discredit U.S. Intelligence Agencies. According to the Washington Post, ‘Attorney General William P. Barr has held private meetings overseas with foreign intelligence officials seeking their help in a Justice Department inquiry that President Trump hopes will discredit U.S. intelligence agencies’ examination of possible connections between Russia and members of the Trump campaign during the 2016 election, according to people familiar with the matter. Barr’s personal involvement is likely to stoke further criticism from Democrats pursuing impeachment that he is helping the Trump administration use executive branch powers to augment investigations aimed primarily at the president’s adversaries.’ [Washington Post 9/30/19]
Barr Made Overtures To British Intelligence Officials And Senior Italian Government Officials. According to the Washington Post, ‘Barr has already made overtures to British intelligence officials, and last week the attorney general traveled to Italy, where he and Durham met senior Italian government officials and Barr asked the Italians to assist Durham, according to one person familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue. It was not Barr’s first trip to Italy to meet intelligence officials, the person said.’ [Washington Post 9/30/19]
Trump Pushed Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison To Help Attorney General Barr Gather Information For An Investigation Trump Hoped Would Discredit The Mueller Report. According to the New York Times, ‘President Trump pushed the Australian prime minister during a recent telephone call to help Attorney General William P. Barr gather information for a Justice Department inquiry that Mr. Trump hopes will discredit the Mueller investigation, according to two American officials with knowledge of the call […] The discussion with Mr. Morrison shows the extent to which Mr. Trump views the attorney general as a crucial partner: The president is using federal law enforcement powers to aid his political prospects, settle scores with his perceived ‘deep state’ enemies and show that the Mueller investigation had corrupt, partisan origins.[New York Times, 9/30/19]
Trump Questioned Mueller’s Conclusion That Russia Was Interfering In The 2020 Election. According to USA Today, “President Donald Trump on Thursday questioned former special counsel Robert Mueller’s assessment that Russia is already interfering in the 2020 presidential election, dismissing the notion just as he did after the 2016 election. ‘You don’t really believe this. Do you believe this?’ Trump told reporters at the White House as he prepared to leave for a political rally in Cincinnati. His words were in response to a direct question about whether he raised Mueller’s assessment during a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump said he did not discuss election interference with Putin during a phone call Wednesday. Mueller, whose staff prepared a report detailing efforts by Russians to hack Democrats and manipulate social media platforms during the 2016 election, said last week they will try it again in 2020.” [USA Today, 8/1/19]
Trump Was Angered Intelligence Officials Concluded Russia Was Interfering In The 2020 Election And Was Worried That Democrats Would Use It Against Him. According to the New York Times, “Intelligence officials warned House lawmakers last week that Russia was interfering in the 2020 campaign to try to get President Trump re-elected, five people familiar with the matter said, a disclosure to Congress that angered Mr. Trump, who complained that Democrats would use it against him.” [New York Times, 2/20/20]
Fiona Hill Testified That Theories Claiming That Ukraine Meddled In 2016 Was A “Fictional Narrative.” According to the Independent, “‘Based on questions and statements I have heard, some of you on this committee appear to believe that Russia and its security services did not conduct a campaign against our country– and that perhaps, somehow, for some reason, Ukraine did. This is a fictional narrative that has been perpetrated and propagated by the Russian security services themselves,’ Dr Hill said.‘The unfortunate truth is that Russia was the foreign power that systematically attacked our democratic institutions in 2016. This is the public conclusion of our intelligence agencies, confirmed in bipartisan Congressional reports,’ she continued. ‘It is beyond dispute, even if some of the underlying details must remain classified.’” [Independent, 11/22/19]
Trump Pushed A Debunked Conspiracy That The DNC Gave Their Server To Ukrainian Company CrowdStrike. According to the Washington Post, “The Democrats, a lot of it had to do, they say, with Ukraine. It’s very interesting. It’s very interesting. They have this server, right? From the DNC, Democratic National Committee. The FBI went in and they told them, ‘Get out of here. You’re not getting it. We’re not giving it to you.’ They gave the server to CrowdStrike or whatever it’s called, which is a company owned by a very wealthy Ukrainian. And I still want to see that server. You know, the FBI has never gotten that server. That’s a big part of this whole thing. Why did they give it to a Ukrainian company?” [Washington Post, 12/2/19]
Washington Post: Trump’s Claim Contained So Many Lies “There Aren’t Enough Pinocchio” To Show How Wrong The Conspiracy Theory Was. According to the Washington Post, “The president persists in pursuing a debunked conspiracy theory. Somehow, we’ve never gotten around to assigning a Pinocchio rating for this claim. Maybe that’s because there aren’t enough Pinocchios available in our system to truly do this justice. […] In the space of 10 sentences, Trump told four whoppers. Ukraine does not have the server, the FBI did not need physical possession to investigate, CrowdStrike was not founded by a Ukrainian, and it is not a Ukrainian company. It is dismaying that despite all of the evidence assembled by his top aides, Trump keeps repeating debunked theories and inaccurate claims that he first raised more than two years ago. There are some days when we wish we were not limited to just Four Pinocchios. We were tempted to display 16 Pinnochios, four for each false statement. But this claim will certainly end up on our list of the Biggest Pinocchios of 2019.” [Washington Post, 12/2/19]
November 2012: Trump Claimed That The U.S. Was “Not A Democracy” After Calling Obama’s 2012 Re-Election A “Total Sham.” According to ABC News, “On election night in 2012, when President Barack Obama was reelected, Trump said that the election was a ‘total sham’ and a ‘travesty,’ while also making the claim that the United States is ‘not a democracy’ after Obama secured his victory. Trump even wrote on Twitter, ‘We can't let this happen. We should march on Washington and stop this travesty. Our nation is totally divided!’ There was no truth to the claims that Obama's election victory against Sen. Mitt Romney was a ‘sham’ and the democratic process played out in 2012 as it is doing now and has with every election, as the votes are tabulated and certified by states and local officials.” [ABC News, 11/11/20]
October 2016: Trump Called U.S. Democracy An “Illusion.” According to the Guardian, “At campaign events over the weekend, as controversy over the groping claims continued, Trump described US democracy as ‘an illusion’ and repeated his calls for people to watch polling stations, which have raised concerns of illegal voter intimidation on election day and possible violent unrest after the result is known.” [Guardian, 10/16/16]
April 2023: Trump: “We No Longer Have A Democracy.” According to the Washington Post, “’With that being said, we want to help people out. We want to have freedom,’ he continued. ‘But, you know, in many ways, we’re no longer a democracy. When you look at what’s happening … they’ve weaponized our justice system. They’ve done things that were unthinkable. I say we don’t have a free press. Look what happened to our show the last time we did a show. You had the biggest show. You had the biggest hits. You were setting records and they took you down.’ […] The irony here is Trump’s claiming that the country is ‘no longer a democracy.’ He said it again later in the show, too. ‘I said we no longer have a democracy, and I say we don’t have free speech,’ he said in response to another incident in which content was removed from YouTube. ‘That’s an incredible form of not having free speech. They took him down for what, because he likes Trump?’” [Washington Post, 4/21/23]
Trump Called To Terminate The Constitution Over The Big Lie. According to the Washington Post, “Donald Trump’s suggestion this weekend that the U.S. Constitution should be terminated in response to his baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen drew a largely muted response from Republicans, the latest sign that many GOP officials remain reluctant to take on the former president even as he challenges the country’s founding precepts. Trump’s online posts Saturday — including a message in which he wrote that ‘UNPRECEDENTED FRAUD REQUIRES UNPRECEDENTED CURE!’ — represented a significant escalation in his attacks on American institutions and democratic norms, one that scholars said must be heeded as a sign of how far he is willing to go to regain power. ‘A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution,’ Trump posted on the Truth Social platform. ‘Our great ‘Founders’ did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!’” [Washington Post, 12/4/22]
Trump Claimed Ted Cruz “Illegally Stole” The Iowa Caucus During The 2016 Republican Presidential Primary. According to Politico, “After congratulating Cruz during his concession speech on Monday night, Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday morning to make the case for why his loss was a crock. ‘Ted Cruz didn’t win Iowa, he illegally stole it. That is why all of the polls were so wrong any [sic] why he got more votes than anticipated. Bad!’ Trump tweeted Wednesday morning. The tweet disappeared within minutes of posting and was replaced by with another that no longer included the word ‘illegally.’ He followed up with an ultimatum: ‘Based on the fraud committed by Senator Ted Cruz during the Iowa Caucus, either a new election should take place or Cruz results nullified,’ he tweeted. Trump said later Wednesday that he’ll likely sue. ‘I probably will; what he did is unthinkable,’ he said during an interview with Boston Herald Radio.” [Politico, 2/3/16]
Trump Claimed Several Times He Believed The Election Will Be Rigged. According to Business Insider, “Amid a week filled with controversy, Donald Trump began to hint at his defense for a potential loss this fall. The election is going to be rigged, he claimed on multiple occasions. ‘And I’m telling you, November 8, we’d better be careful, because that election is going to be rigged,’ the New York billionaire told Fox News host Sean Hannity in one such example. ‘And I hope the Republicans are watching closely or it’s going to be taken away from us.’” [Business Insider, 8/22/16]
VIDEO: Trump: “I’m Afraid The Election Is Going To Be Rigged, I Have To Be Honest.” According to Trump at a rally via YouTube, “TRUMP: I’m afraid the election is going to be rigged, I have to be honest. Because I think my side was rigged — if I didn’t win by massive landslides — I mean think of what we won in New York, in Indiana, California – 78%. That’s with other people in the race.” [Donald Trump Rally, Columbus, Ohio via YouTube, 8/2/16]
@Realdonaldtrump: “Of Course There Is Large Scale Voter Fraud Happening On And Before Election Day. Why Do Republican Leaders Deny What Is Going On? So Naive!” [Twitter, 10/17/16]
Trump’s Claim That The Election Will Be Rigged Was Rated “Pants On Fire” By PolitiFact. According to PolitiFact, “Trump has repeatedly claimed that the U.S. election system is rigged. He has cited examples of voter fraud, which is extremely rare, often unintentional and not on a scale large enough to affect a national election. While there are isolated examples of bought local elections, experts say it cannot be replicated on a national scale. While it is possible to tamper with electronic voting machines, there is no evidence deliberate malfeasance has altered any election. We rate Trump’s claim Pants on Fire.” [PolitiFact, 8/15/16]
Trump’s First General Election Ad Showed A Voting Precinct With The Words “System Rigged” Across The Screen. According to ThinkProgress, ‘With just a few weeks left until voters start casting their ballots, GOP nominee Donald Trump has finally cut a general election TV ad, which will air in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, and North Carolina. One of the very first images in the 30-second ad shows a line of people waiting in line to vote, with a soundtrack of ominous music playing and the words ‘system rigged’ emblazoned across the screen.’ [ThinkProgress, 8/19/16]
Only 216 Cases Of Voter Fraud, Double Voting, Non-Citizen Voting, Etc., Have Occurred In The Last Eleven Years. According to PolitiFact, “Trump’s claims of voter fraud, which echo arguments for voter ID laws, are also not reflective of reality. While the U.S. Government Accountability Office has acknowledged that it’s difficult to estimate how often voter fraud happens based on reported incidents, the evidence for rampant fraud is lacking. News 21 found just 150 alleged cases of double voting, 56 cases of noncitizens voting, and 10 cases of voter impersonation across all elections from 2000 to 2011. Many of these never led to charges, while others were acquitted or dismissed. Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School and an expert on voter fraud, found an even smaller number: 31 credible incidents out of more than 1 billion votes cast from 2000 to 2014.” [PolitiFact, 8/15/16]
Trump Ally Roger Stone Suggested On A Podcast That If Clinton Won Florida, The Election Would Be “Illegitimate.” According to Talking Points Memo, “While Trump has often questioned the integrity of the primary contests in both parties, his newest remarks seemed to begin laying groundwork for him to contest the Nov. 8 election results. It was a line of attack that longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone pushed on a podcast with Breitbart’s Milo Yiannopoulos that was posted online Friday. Stone suggested voter fraud is ‘widespread’ and said if Hillary Clinton wins a state like Florida after polls show Trump in the lead, the election would be ‘illegitimate.’ ‘If there’s voter fraud, this election will be illegitimate, the election of the winner will be illegitimate, we will have a constitutional crisis, widespread civil disobedience, and the government will no longer be the government,’ Stone said. He also promised a ‘bloodbath’ if the Democrats attempt to ‘steal’ the election.” [Talking Points Memo, 8/1/16]
Trump Surrogate Rudy Giuliani Claimed There Were Places Where “A Lot Of Cheating Going On” Such As Philadelphia And Chicago. According to the Guardian, “He goes head-to-head with Clinton in the final presidential debate in Las Vegas on Wednesday evening. Giuliani at first argued that the candidate was merely speaking about bias in journalism, telling CNN’s State of the Union: ‘When he talks about a rigged election, he’s not talking about the fact that it’s going to be rigged at the polls. What he’s talking about is that 80% to 85% of the media is against him.’ But then he jumped from media criticism into racially charged territory, saying ‘there have been places where a lot of cheating going on’, citing two cities with large black populations, Philadelphia and Chicago.” [Guardian, 10/16/16]
VIDEO: Giuliani: “I’m Sorry, Dead People Generally Vote For Democrats Rather Than Republicans.” According to CNN, “Top Donald Trump adviser Rudy Giuliani claimed Sunday that Democrats could steal a close election by having dead people vote in inner cities, while vice presidential candidate Mike Pence said the ticket will ‘absolutely accept the result of the election.’ ‘I’m sorry, dead people generally vote for Democrats rather than Republicans,’ the former New York City mayor told CNN’s Jake Tapper on ‘State of the Union.’ ‘You want me to (say) that I think the election in Philadelphia and Chicago is going to be fair? I would have to be a moron to say that.’” [CNN, 10/16/16]
Newt Gingrich Said That There Was Vote “Theft” In Philadelphia And Urged Voters To Monitor Polling Stations. According to CNN, “And Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, on ABC’s ‘This Week’ urged Trump voters to monitor polling stations. ‘I remember when Richard Nixon had the election stolen in 1960, and no serious historian doubts that Illinois and Texas were stolen. So to suggest that, we have, you don’t have theft in Philadelphia is to deny reality,’ Gingrich said.” [CNN, 10/15/16]
VIDEO: McCaughey: “There Is A Lot Of Compelling Evidence That The Media Are Working Very Hard To Tip This Election For Mrs. Clinton.” According to Bloomberg Surveillance, “MCCAUGHEY: There is a lot of compelling evidence that the media are working very hard to tip this election for Mrs. Clinton. Including rolling out these very suspect charges.” [Bloomberg Surveillance, 10/17/16]
VIDEO: McCaughey On Whether Trump’s Suggesting That The Voting Mechanism Was “Rigged”: “In Some Places That May Be True.” According to Bloomberg Surveillance, “KEENE: Would you suggest that Mr. Trump over the weekend Trump suggested the mechanism of the voting …is rigged. MCCAUGHEY: Yes he did make that comment and as I said— KEENE: Do you agree? MCCAUGHEY: In some places that may be true. I’m not an expert on election fraud, although I have seen some of it.” [Bloomberg Surveillance, 10/17/16]
Washington Post: “Donald Trump Setting The Stage To Never Concede The 2016 Election.” [Washington Post, 10/14/16]
Trump After Initially Promising To Honor Election Results, Backtracked, Said, “We’re Going To Have To See. We’re Going To Have To See What Happens.” According to the Guardian, “Donald Trump said on Friday that he would not necessarily accept the results of the presidential election in the event that Hillary Clinton defeated him, reversing his statement four days earlier that he would ‘absolutely’ respect them. After the first presidential debate on Monday, the Republican nominee told reporters ‘absolutely I would’ honor the results of the election should he lose. In an interview with the New York Times on Friday, he backtracked: ‘We’re going to have to see. We’re going to see what happens. We’re going to have to see.’” [Guardian, 9/30/16]
Trump On The 2016 Election: “Of Course, I Would Accept A Clear Election Result, But I Would Also Reserve My Right To Contest Or File A Legal Challenge In The Case Of A Questionable Result.” According to the Washington Post, “‘America is a constitutional republic with a system of laws. These laws are triggered in the case of fraud or in the event of a recount where it is needed. Of course, I would accept a clear election result, but I would also reserve my right to contest or file a legal challenge in the case of a questionable result. Right?’ Trump said at a Thursday afternoon rally at the Delaware County fairgrounds in this town just north of Columbus.” [Washington Post, 10/20/16]
VIDEO: When Asked If We Would Accept Election Results, Trump Said “I’ll Look At It At The Time” And “I’ll Keep You In Suspense.” According to the Guardian, “WALLACE: Do you make the same commitment that you would absolutely accept the results of this election. TRUMP: I will look at it at the time. I’m not looking at anything now—I’ll look at it at the time. What I’ve seen is so bad. First of all the media is dishonest and so corrupt, and the pile on is so amazing. […] WALLACE: Are you saying that you’re not prepared now to commit to that principal? TRUMP: What I’m saying is I’ll tell you at the time. I’ll keep you in suspense.” [Guardian, 10/19/16]
Trump: “I Will Totally Accept The Results Of This Great And Historic Presidential Election — If I Win.” According to the Washington Post, “‘Ladies and gentlemen, I want to make a major announcement today: I would like to promise and pledge to all of my voters and supporters, and to all of the people of the United States, that I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election — if I win,’ Trump said, as the crowd cheered.” [Washington Post, 10/20/16]
October 2016: Trump: “Illegal Immigrants Are Voting All Over The Country.” According to the Huffington Post, “Donald Trump continued railing against what he says is voter fraud Monday night, this time claiming that ‘illegal immigrants are voting all over the country.’ ‘There is tremendous voter fraud. And how Republican leadership doesn’t see that is beyond me,’ Trump told Fox News before a Green Bay, Wisconsin, rally. ‘So many cities are corrupt and voter fraud is all too common,’ Trump said a short time later from the stage.” [Huffington Post, 10/17/16]
Trump Falsely Claimed That, “14 Percent Of Noncitizens Are Registered To Vote.” According to PolitiFact, “One of Trump’s rallying cries as Election Day nears has been that the election system is rigged and rampant with voter fraud. We’ve debunked this idea in more than one way, but more recently, Trump offered several statistics to back his claim up during a rally in Cleveland, Ohio, on Oct. 23. […] Trump said, ‘14 percent of noncitizens are registered to vote.’ Trump is citing a study that has been refuted by the experts who actually gathered the underlying data. Trump’s remark references an unreliable data point that uses a small sample size to represent an entire population. We rate Trump’s claim False.” [PolitiFact, 10/24/16]
Trump: “Non-Citizen Voters Were Responsible For Obama’s 2008 Victory In North Carolina.” According to PolitiFact, “‘It’s possible that non-citizen voters were responsible for Obama’s 2008 victory in North Carolina,’ Trump said. North Carolina’s 15 electoral votes hardly would have made 2008 Republican nominee John McCain the president – Obama won 365 votes in the Electoral College to McCain’s 173.” [PolitiFact, 10/19/16]
PolitFact Rated Trump’s Claim Of Non-Citizens Voting In North Carolina As “Pants On Fire.” According to PolitiFact, “‘It’s possible that non-citizen voters were responsible for Obama’s 2008 victory in North Carolina,’ Trump said. North Carolina’s 15 electoral votes hardly would have made 2008 Republican nominee John McCain the president – Obama won 365 votes in the Electoral College to McCain’s 173. But this claim of an illegitimate victory is still a pretty shocking accusation coming from the current Republican nominee. […] North Carolina figures to be a toss-up again this year, after it narrowly went for Mitt Romney in 2012. A RealClearPolitics average of polling from the first half of October showed Hillary Clinton with a 3-point lead over Trump in the Tar Heel State. […] There is no evidence to support that theory, and that’s not for a lack of attention. A federal appeals court has looked into it, as has the N.C. Board of Elections, and both found nothing of concern. Political scientists also disagree with Trump. And even if the study Trump was citing is valid – although many say it’s not – it still doesn’t back up Trump’s claim. We rate this claim Pants on Fire.” [PolitiFact, 10/19/16]
The Hill: “Trump Repeatedly Made Baseless Claims About Voter Fraud During The 2016 Election, Claiming Millions Of Fraudulent Votes Are The Reason Hillary Clinton Won The Popular Vote.” According to The Hill, “Trump repeatedly made baseless claims about voter fraud during the 2016 election, claiming millions of fraudulent votes are the reason Hillary Clinton won the popular vote. ‘You can never really find, you know, there are going to be — no matter what numbers we come up with there are going to be lots of people that did things that we’re not going to find out about,’ Trump said in January after taking office. ‘But we will find out because we need a better system where that can’t happen.’” [The Hill, 5/11/17]
Trump: “I Won The Popular Vote If You Deduct The Millions Of People Who Voted Illegally.” According to PolitiFact, “President-elect Donald Trump provoked a firestorm on social media with a series of tweets on Nov. 27 that questioned the integrity of the balloting that elected him president. In one tweet, Trump wrote, ‘In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally.’” [PolitiFact, 11/28/16]
Trump: “You Mean They Are Just Now Finding Votes In Florida And Georgia – But The Election Was On Tuesday?” According to Trump on Twitter, “You mean they are just now finding votes in Florida and Georgia – but the Election was on Tuesday? Let’s blame the Russians and demand an immediate apology from President Putin!” [Twitter.com, @realDonaldTrump, 11/9/18]
Trump: “They’re Finding Votes Out Of Nowhere […] I Think That People Have To Look At It Very, Very Cautiously.” According to NPR, “‘They’re finding votes out of nowhere, and Rick Scott who won by — it was close, but he won by a comfortable margin, he easily won but every hour it seems to be going down,’ Trump said outside the White House Friday. ‘I think that people have to look at it very, very cautiously.’” [NPR, 11/9/18]
Election Expert: Florida Election Officials Were “Literally Just Counting The Ballots. This Isn’t Corruption Or Fraud.” According to NPR, “In the case of Florida still counting ballots more than 48 hours after polls closed, David Becker, the executive director for the Center for Election Innovation and Research, told NPR it is extremely common for a voting jurisdiction to be taking as long as Broward County is. ‘Election officials are literally just counting the ballots. This isn’t corruption or fraud,’ Becker said. ‘It is literally the best of democracy. Let election officials do their job and count the ballots.’” [NPR, 11/9/18]
Trump: “You Mean They Are Just Now Finding Votes In Florida And Georgia – But The Election Was On Tuesday?” According to Trump on Twitter, “You mean they are just now finding votes in Florida and Georgia – but the Election was on Tuesday? Let’s blame the Russians and demand an immediate apology from President Putin!” [Twitter.com, @realDonaldTrump, 11/9/18]
Trump On Arizona: “Electoral Corruption - Call For A New Election?” According to Trump on Twitter, “Just out — in Arizona, SIGNATURES DON’T MATCH. Electoral corruption - Call for a new Election? We must protect our Democracy!” [Twitter.com, @realDonaldTrump, 11/9/18]
Trump Did Not Provide Evidence Of “Electoral Corruption” In Arizona. According to AZ Central, “Trump did not offer any evidence for his claim of ‘electoral corruption.’” [AZ Central, 11/9/18]
Trump Tweeted As Sinema Took Lead In Senate Election And County GOP Groups Went To Court Over The Ballot Counts. According to AZ Central, “With Arizona’s U.S. Senate race at stake, President Donald Trump raised the prospect of a ‘new Election’ as well as ‘electoral corruption.’ Trump’s tweet came as his candidate, Republican hopeful Martha McSally, lagged behind Democratic hopeful Kyrsten Sinema, and as local GOP groups were headed to court over election-related practices in Maricopa County and Pima County, where McSally was at a disadvantage.” [AZ Central, 11/9/18]
Trump: “58,000 Non-Citizens Voted In Texas, With 95,000 Non-Citizens Registered To Vote. These Numbers Are Just The Tip Of The Iceberg.” According to Trump on Twitter, “58,000 non-citizens voted in Texas, with 95,000 non-citizens registered to vote. These numbers are just the tip of the iceberg. All over the country, especially in California, voter fraud is rampant. Must be stopped. Strong voter ID! @foxandfriends” [Twitter.com, @realDonaldTrump, 1/27/19]
The Numbers Tweeted By Trump Referred To A Fox News Segment That Did Not Report The Full Context. According to NBC News, “‘These numbers are just the tip of the iceberg,’ Trump wrote on Twitter. ’All over the country, especially in California, voter fraud is rampant. Must be stopped. Strong voter ID!’ The tweet followed a segment on ‘Fox and Friends’ about a report from Texas election officials on potential non-citizens who were registered to vote. But the show’s claims, and Trump’s, do not accurately reflect the findings announced by Texas authorities on Friday, and other news outlets also failed to report the full context of the immigrant voting situation in the state.” [NBC News, 1/27/19]
Senior Political Advisor And Counsel To Trump’s Reelection: “Traditionally It’s Always Been Republicans Suppressing Votes In Places” And Planned “Much Bigger” And “More Aggressive” Program In 2020. According to the Associated Press, “Justin Clark, a senior political adviser and senior counsel to Trump’s reelection campaign, made the remarks on Nov. 21 as part of a wide-ranging discussion about strategies in the 2020 campaign, including more aggressive use of Election Day monitoring of polling places. ‘Traditionally it’s always been Republicans suppressing votes in places,’ Clark said at the event. ‘Let’s start protecting our voters. We know where they are. ... Let’s start playing offense a little bit. That’s what you’re going to see in 2020. It’s going to be a much bigger program, a much more aggressive program, a much better-funded program.’” [Associated Press, 12/20/19]
July 20, 2020: Bill Stepien Promoted Justin Clark To Deputy Campaign Manager. According to Politico, “President Donald Trump’s newly appointed campaign manager is making more changes to the reelection effort as it barrels toward Election Day. Bill Stepien announced Monday that Justin Clark would be serving as deputy campaign manager, Nick Trainer as director of battleground strategy, and Matt Morgan as campaign counsel.” [Politico, 7/20/20]
Trump Revived The Idea Of Using Law Enforcement Officers To Patrol Polling Places, Invoking Tactics Historically Used To Scare Voters Of Color. According to the Washington Post, “More than 30 years ago, a Republican Party program that dispatched off-duty police officers to patrol polling places in heavily Black and Latino neighborhoods in New Jersey triggered accusations of voter intimidation, resulting in a federal agreement that restricted for decades how the national GOP could observe voting. Now, two years after those limits were lifted, President Trump has revived the idea of using law enforcement officers to patrol polling places, invoking tactics historically used to scare voters of color. In an interview Thursday with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump described law enforcement officers as part of a phalanx of authorities he hopes will monitor voting in November. ‘We’re going to have everything,’ the president said. ‘We’re going to have sheriffs, and we’re going to have law enforcement, and we’re going to hopefully have U.S. attorneys and we’re going to have everybody, and attorney generals. But it’s very hard.’” [Washington Post, 8/21/20]
Trump Stated Mail-In Voting Would Lead To “Massive Fraud And Abuse.” According to the Washington Post, "Trump, however, has taken aim much more broadly at the practice of voting by mail, making sweeping and unfounded claims that it will lead to ‘MASSIVE FRAUD AND ABUSE,’ as he tweeted Thursday." [Washington Post, 6/1/20]
Rolling Stone: “Trump Lied For Five Uninterrupted Minutes About Mail-In Voting During Virus Briefing.” [Rolling Stone, 8/3/20]
Trump Claimed Mail-In Votes Were Stolen From Mailboxes, Had Signatures Forged, And Ballots Were Illegally Printed. According to CNN, “Specifically, and without evidence, Trump has claimed that mail-in voting is particularly susceptible to fraud, casting it as a lawless, unregulated exercise where ballots are stolen from mailboxes, voter signatures are routinely forged and even the ballots themselves are illegally printed.” [CNN, 5/28/20]
Trump: “Mail Ballots Are Very Dangerous For This Country Because Of Cheaters. They Go Collect Them. They Are Fraudulent In Many Cases.” According to the New York Times, "With concerns mounting over how the country can conduct elections during a pandemic and Democrats pressing for alternatives to in-person voting, President Trump has begun pushing a false argument that has circulated among conservatives for years — that voting by mail is a recipe for fraud. ‘Mail ballots, they cheat,’ Mr. Trump said at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. ‘Mail ballots are very dangerous for this country because of cheaters. They go collect them. They are fraudulent in many cases. They have to vote. They should have voter ID, by the way.’" [New York Times, 8/31/20]
Trump Falsely Claimed California Sent Ballots To Undocumented Immigrants. According to CNN, “On Tuesday, Trump tweeted a flurry of accusations, including falsely claiming that California was sending ballots to undocumented immigrants and was prepared to let ‘anyone,’ regardless of residency, vote by mail.” [CNN, 5/28/20]
Trump: “We Don’t Want Anyone To Do Mail-In Ballots.” According to PBS, “‘We don’t want anyone to do mail-in ballots,’ Trump told reporters before leaving for Michigan. That state drew the president’s ire announcing this week it was sending ballot request forms to all voters to encourage safe voting during the coronavirus pandemic.” [PBS, 5/21/20]
Trump’s Campaign Attacked Vote By Mail And Dedicated Millions To Lawsuits And Ads Aimed To Restrict Ballots And Voter Rolls. According to the Washington Post, "President Trump’s persistent attacks on mail-in voting have fueled an unprecedented effort by conservatives to limit expansion of the practice before the November election, with tens of millions of dollars planned for lawsuits and advertising aimed at restricting who receives ballots and who remains on the voter rolls. The strategy, embraced by Trump’s reelection campaign, the Republican National Committee and an array of independent conservative groups, reflects the recognition by both parties that voting rules could decide the outcome of the 2020 White House race amid the electoral challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic." [Washington Post, 6/1/20]
July 2020: The RNC Filed Lawsuits In 12 States To Restrict Mail-In Voting Or Invalidate State Level Policies On Mail-In Ballots. According to Rolling Stone, “In February, the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee announced that they would spend $10 million on voting-related lawsuits in 2020 — a figure that has since doubled to $20 million. The RNC has so far filed lawsuits in more than a dozen states, including the battlegrounds of Colorado, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Florida. These suits are a mix of offense and defense: Some attempt to block litigation brought by Democratic groups to expand mail-in voting in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Others seek to invalidate state-level policies by saying that expanding access to mail-in ballots invites fraud. But the uniting theme of the RNC’s suits, says Rick Hasen, a University of California, Irvine law professor and author of Election Meltdown, is simple: ‘Casting doubt on the legitimacy of the election. Raising spurious fraud claims.’” [Rolling Stone, 7/16/20]
Trump Threatened To Withhold Federal Funding To The State Of Michigan Over Expanded Mail-In Voting. According to Politico, “President Donald Trump mischaracterized Michigan’s absentee ballot policies on Wednesday while threatening federal funding to the state if election officials there do not retreat from measures meant to facilitate mail-in voting. […] “Breaking: Michigan sends absentee ballots to 7.7 million people ahead of Primaries and the General Election,” Trump tweeted. “This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State. I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!”" [Politico, 5/20/20]
Trump’s Public Threats Attempting To Extort The State Of Michigan Came As The State Works To Navigate A Second Wave Of The Coronavirus And A Flood. According to MSNBC, “Michigan was already hit hard by the coronavirus crisis, and now it’s dealing with another round of devastating conditions. Brutal flooding in the state has breached two dams, forcing thousands of Michigan residents to evacuate in what the National Weather Service has described as a ‘life-threatening situation.’ It was against this backdrop that Donald Trump thought it’d be a good idea to publish a tweet this morning, threatening to cut off Michigan’s federal funding.” [MSNBC, 5/20/20]
July 30, 2020: Trump Suggested That November’s General Election Should Be Postponed Due To The Coronavirus Pandemic And Unsubstantiated Claims Of Widespread Mail-In Voter Fraud. According to Politico, “President Donald Trump suggested Thursday that November’s general election should be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and his unsubstantiated assertions of widespread mail-in voter fraud. ‘With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history,’ Trump wrote on Twitter. ‘It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???’ The president’s extraordinary proposal, which he is not constitutionally empowered to enforce, represents what appears to be his first attempt at floating a suspension of the election, which is less than 100 days away.” [Politico, 7/30/20]
The USPS Had Seen A Slowing Of Mail Delivery In Some Places Under DeJoy, Prompting Fears That Ballots Would Not Reach Election Offices In Time. According to CNN, “The commitment by DeJoy, a longtime Trump ally and fundraiser, echoes the agency's resolute stance earlier this week that it has the capacity to handle the added volume of mail-in ballots in November's general election. The President has cast doubt on whether it will be able to handle an election that is expected to see significant numbers of mail-in ballots as the coronavirus pandemic rages on […] USPS is also seeing a slowing of mail delivery in some places under DeJoy. The agency has recently implemented new efforts that some workers blame for delivery delays of at least two days across the country -- prompting fears that many ballots may not reach election offices in time if the problems aren't corrected by November.” [CNN, 8/7/20]
Trump Pressured Arizona Governor Doug Ducey To Overturn Arizona’s Election Results In 2020. According to the Washington Post, “In a phone call in late 2020, President Donald Trump tried to pressure Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) to overturn the state’s presidential election results, saying that if enough fraudulent votes could be found it would overcome Trump’s narrow loss in Arizona, according to three people familiar with the call.” [Washington Post, 7/1/23]
The Phone Call Took Place On November 30, 2020. According to the Washington Post, “Trump phoned the governor’s cellphone on Nov. 30, 2020, as Ducey was in the middle of signing documents certifying President Biden’s win in the state during a live-streamed video ceremony. Trump’s outreach was immediately clear to those watching. They heard ‘Hail to the Chief’ play on the governor’s ringtone. Ducey pulled his phone from out of his suit jacket, muted the incoming call and put his phone aside. On Dec. 2, he told reporters he spoke to the president after the ceremony, but he declined to fully detail the nature of the conversation. Ducey said the president had ‘an inquisitive mind’ but did not ask the governor to withhold his signature certifying the election results.” [Washington Post, 7/1/23]
Ducey Did Not Record His Call With Trump. According to the Washington Post, “Ducey did not record the call, people familiar with the matter said.” [Washington Post, 7/1/23]
Trump’s 2020 Campaign Paid Outside Research Firm Berkeley Research Group To Prove Electoral Fraud, But Did Not Release Findings Because The Firm Disputed Trump’s Theories And Couldn’t Provide Proof Trump Won. According to the Washington Post, “Former president Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign commissioned an outside research firm in a bid to prove electoral-fraud claims but never released the findings because the firm disputed many of his theories and could not offer any proof that he was the rightful winner of the election, according to four people familiar with the matter. The campaign paid researchers from Berkeley Research Group, the people said, to study 2020 election results in six states, looking for fraud and irregularities to highlight in public and in the courts. Among the areas examined were voter machine malfunctions, instances of dead people voting and any evidence that could help Trump show he won, the people said. None of the findings were presented to the public or in court.” [Washington Post, 2/11/23]
A Dozen People Worked On The Report In The Final Weeks Of 2020. According to the Washington Post, “About a dozen people at the firm worked on the report, including econometricians, who use statistics to model and predict outcomes, the people said. The work was carried out in the final weeks of 2020, before the Jan. 6 riot of Trump supporters at the U.S. Capitol.” [Washington Post, 2/11/23]
The Trump-Commissioned 2020 Report Had “High Confidence” In Few Dead Voters In Georgia. According to the Washington Post, “But a report commissioned by his own campaign dated one day prior told a different story: Researchers paid by Trump’s team had “high confidence” of only nine dead voters in Fulton County, defined as ballots that may have been cast by someone else in the name of a deceased person. They believed there was a “potential statewide exposure” of 23 such votes across the Peach State — or 4,977 fewer than the “minimum” Trump claimed.” [Washington Post, 3/17/23]
Trump’s Lawyers Alleged 1,506 Ballots Were Cast In Nevada By Dead People, But Trump Report Had “High Confidence” Only 20 Ballots Were Cast In Name Of Deceased Person In Nevada. According to the Washington Post, “In a separate failed bid to overturn the results in Nevada, Trump’s lawyers said in a court filing that 1,506 ballots were cast in the names of dead people and 42,284 voted twice. Trump lost the Silver State by about 33,000 votes. The researchers paid by Trump’s team had ‘high confidence’ that 12 ballots were cast in the names of deceased people in Clark County, Nev., and believed the ‘high end potential exposure’ was 20 voters statewide — some 1,486 fewer than Trump’s lawyers said.” [Washington Post, 3/17/23]
Trump Claimed He Won The 2020 Election Within Three Minutes Of Starting His New Hampshire Speech. According to the New York Times, “Over the past six weeks on his social media platform, Truth Social, Mr. Trump has been posting videos about his policy positions, including plans to protect Social Security and Medicare and ban Chinese citizens from owning U.S. farmland or telecommunications, energy, technology or medical supply companies. The videos, in which the former president speaks directly to the camera, are aimed at reassuring supporters that he’s focused on topics other than his 2020 defeat, an issue that flopped with midterm voters. Still, old habits die hard. Within three minutes of beginning his speech in New Hampshire, he falsely claimed he had won his last race.” [New York Times, 1/28/23]
Trump Called The State Of Nevada “Disgraceful” While Denying That He Lost It Twice. According to the Nevada Globe, “TNG: So let’s talk Nevada. Governor Lombardo lost Clark County by six points. He lost Washoe county by two points. Yet, he still won the governorship. Additionally, he’s recently signed legislation that awards $25 million to the Culinary Union. The Nevada GOP believes that that money is going to be used for ballot harvesting. Proponents claim it’s going to be used for a ‘capital improvement project’ that hasn’t been identified. A GOP presidential candidate hasn’t won Nevada since 2004. You lost Nevada twice. How do you win Nevada? President Trump: I think I won the last time. I think I won both times by a lot. This is a state that is disgraceful. You know, we sued on the basis of …they robbed the vote at a level. We had a lawsuit that was so good and the judge didn’t want to see it. He didn’t even want to see it. We had a lawsuit that was, in my opinion, conclusive.” [Nevada Globe, 7/10/23]
April 2024: Trump Repeated His Lie That He Won Wisconsin In 2020, Saying, “We Won In Wisconsin, As You Know, The First Time. The Second Time We Did Much Better.” According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “Former President Donald Trump repeated familiar false claims ahead of his first visit to Wisconsin this campaign cycle: that he actually won the state in 2020 and there was widespread voter fraud. On April 1, 2024 — a day before Wisconsin’s presidential primary and Trump’s first 2024 rally in the state — Trump appeared on WISN-AM’s Dan O’Donnell show. Trump incorrectly said he won Wisconsin in 2020. He did win the state in 2016, but lost in 2020. ‘We had a reelection the second time. We actually did much better than the first time. We won in Wisconsin, as you know, the first time. The second time we did much better,’ Trump said. Trump also falsely claimed that he won after ‘wrongdoing’ was discovered in the 2020 election. ‘But I guess it was delayed,’ Trump continued. ‘They found out a lot of wrongdoing. And after the wrongdoing was found, people said, ‘Well, he actually did win.’’” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 4/1/24]
Trump Repeated The Lie That He Won Wisconsin In 2020, Arguing That The State’s Top Election Administrator Would “Try To Steal Another Election” If Not Removed From Office. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday repeated the lie that he won Wisconsin in 2020 just seven months before he'll again appear on the ballot, warning the state's top election administrator ‘will try to steal another election’ if she's not removed.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 4/9/24]
Sources Said Trump Wanted Michael Flynn And Jeffrey Clark In High Ranking Positions In A Second Trump Administration. According to Rolling Stone, “JEFFREY CLARK AND Michael Flynn were leading figures in Donald Trump’s efforts to carry out a coup d’etat in 2020 and 2021. The result was mob violence, deaths at the Capitol in Washington, DC, an array of criminal investigations and lawsuits, and what one former senior Trump aide went on the record to call ‘the worst day for the Republican Party since Lincoln’s assassination.’ […] The former president has privately noted on several occasions over the last several months how he’s seriously considering names like Michael Flynn and Jeffrey Clark for high-level positions in a potential second White House term. That’s according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, as well as another person briefed on it. The two worked hard to overturn the election with Flynn lobbying the president to institute martial law, and then-President Trump hoping to fire the acting attorney general, Jeffrey Rosen, and swap in the more agreeable Clark.” [Rolling Stone, 5/11/23]
Trump Reportedly Said Any Role For Flynn Would “Probably” Have To Avoid Senate Confirmation. According to Rolling Stone, “In at least one of these conversations, Trump was self-aware enough to say that any senior role for Flynn would ‘probably’ have to be a non-Senate-confirmed appointment, one of the sources with direct knowledge tells Rolling Stone. Flynn’s comments calling for martial law in the wake of the election prompted some Republicans, like Sen. Mitt Romney, to criticize him, potentially leaving any Senate-confirmable position effectively out of reach for the retired Army general.” [Rolling Stone, 5/11/23]
Trump Suggested That Mass Voter Fraud Was Occurring In The 2022 Midterms. According to CNN, “Trump, who has repeatedly and falsely alleged that there was mass voter fraud in the 2020 election, baselessly suggested on social media on Tuesday that such fraud might be happening in the 2022 midterms. ‘Same thing is happening with Voter Fraud as happened in 2020???’ the former president wrote Tuesday afternoon on his Truth Social platform. There was no evidence of widespread or outcome-changing voter fraud in the 2020 election, and there was no early sign on Tuesday of any significant voter fraud in the 2022 midterms. Voter fraud typically represents a tiny fraction of ballots cast in US elections.” [CNN, 11/9/22]
Trump Falsely Claimed That “Large Numbers” Of Voters In Detroit Were Being Told They Had Already Voted And Turned Away At Polling Stations. According to CNN, “Trump urged followers to ‘protest,’ and the GOP nominee for Michigan secretary of state falsely claimed ‘fraud’ was to blame for what officials called a ‘harmless data error’ in Detroit. By the time Trump weighed in, the Michigan Department of State had already addressed what happened at select polling places in Detroit and said a resolution had been identified. That fix was sent to precincts by 11 a.m. Even when the situation was still being reviewed, ‘voters were always able to vote,’ Michigan Department of State spokesperson Jake Rollow told reporters Tuesday. ‘At no point was any, was there any inability to process a voter who showed up,’ he said. [...] And Trump falsely said on his Truth Social account, ‘the Absentee Ballot situation in Detroit is REALLY BAD. People are showing up to Vote only to be told, ‘sorry, you have already voted.’ This is happening in large numbers, elsewhere as well. Protest, Protest, Protest!’” [CNN, 11/9/22]
Trump Complained About Potential Voter Fraud After Winning The New Hampshire Primary. According to the Associated Press, “After he won the New Hampshire Republican primary Tuesday night, former President Donald Trump complained about his main GOP rival, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, about immigration, inflation, and his likely opponent in November, President Joe Biden. One thing he didn’t complain about: Voter fraud in the election he had just won. That continues a pattern for Trump as he steamrolls through the GOP presidential primary and toward an increasingly likely November rematch with Biden. While Trump generally refrains from claiming voter fraud in elections he wins, he spends plenty of time laying the groundwork to cry fraud should he lose an upcoming vote. He’s already been doing that with an eye toward November’s general election. ‘They used COVID to cheat. And they did a lot of other things, too. We’re not going to let that happen,’ Trump said of Democrats in his Tuesday night speech to supporters in New Hampshire. ‘You can never forget history, because if you forget, you never, you never recover from it. And you repeat.’” [Associated Press, 1/24/24]
Trump’s Campaign Accused DeSantis Of “Trying To Rig” The Iowa Caucus. According to Rolling Stone, “NO ONE IS safe from former President Donald Trump’s accusations of election fraud, not even his fellow Republicans — specifically Florida governor and 2024 presidential candidate Ron DeSantis. While Trump’s baseless accusations of election fraud tend to focus on President Joe Biden, ahead of the anniversary of Jan. 6 Trump’s campaign mailed out flyers accusing DeSantis of “trying to rig the Iowa Caucus,’ which is set to take place on Jan. 15. NBC News confirmed the mailer’s authenticity and its connection to the Trump campaign.” [Rolling Stone, 1/5/24]
Washington Post: Trump’s Ideal Vice President Would Not Contradict His Lies About The 2020 Election. According to the Washington Post, “Donald Trump’s perfect vice president looks the part: attractive and telegenic. They are ideally Black or a woman, though that’s not required. And they are most certainly not taller than Trump himself. Trump wants someone he sees in person but doesn’t see too much, his advisers say. He does not necessarily want a successor as the leader of the MAGA movement; he would prefer that the Republican Party duke it out for his endorsement in four years, one adviser said. He wants a No. 2 who has won in the past. And he wants someone who will never contradict his false claims about the outcome of the 2020 election.” [Washington Post, 4/12/24]
Trump Called The Attack On The Capitol A “Love Fest.” According to the New York Times, “Soon, however, Mr. Trump began to echo the growing attempts to revise the history of the Capitol attack. In doing so, he often followed the lead of far-right lawmakers, including Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who were in turn following the lead of a small but vocal group of right-wing journalists and activists. Mr. Trump’s embrace of Jan. 6 not only has meant describing the attack in which more than 100 police officers were injured as a ‘love fest.’ It also has led him to tell a journalist that he wanted to march to the Capitol that day but that his team had prevented him from doing so.” [New York Times, 4/13/24]
January 2022: Trump Said He Would Consider Pardoning Those Involved In The January 6 Attack On The Capitol. According to the New York Times, “At a rally in Texas in January 2022, Mr. Trump, while teasing his eventual presidential bid, said he would consider pardoning those involved in the assault if he were re-elected — a promise he has often repeated.” [New York Times, 4/13/24]
September 2022: Trump Met With Cynthia Hughes, Whose Nephew Took Part In The Capitol Attack And Was A Nazi Sympathizer. According to the New York Times, “In July 2022, one of his aides, Liz Harrington, reached out to Julie Kelly, a conservative journalist who has written extensively about the Capitol attack and the defendants charged with taking part in it. Ms. Harrington asked what Mr. Trump could do ‘to bail these people out,’ Ms. Kelly recalled. She replied that while there was little he could do about their bail, Mr. Trump should educate himself about the larger legal issues surrounding Jan. 6. Ms. Kelly proposed a meeting with Cynthia Hughes, the founder of the Patriot Freedom Project, a prominent Jan. 6 legal defense fund. Mr. Trump’s aides initially balked at the idea of sitting down with Ms. Hughes, Ms. Kelly recalled. Ms. Hughes’s nephew, Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, was facing charges stemming from the Capitol attack, but he was also an avowed Nazi sympathizer who liked to take pictures of himself dressed as Hitler. In the end, however, Ms. Kelly and Ms. Hughes were granted an audience with Mr. Trump at Bedminster in September 2022. Ms. Kelly said that she told the former president he was not doing enough to support the Jan. 6 defendants and that they felt abandoned by him. The two women also told Mr. Trump that some of the federal judges he had put on the bench were ‘among the worst’ when it came to handling the hundreds of criminal cases stemming from the Capitol attack.” [New York Times, 4/13/24]
Trump Gave Hughes’ Organization $10,000. According to the New York Times, “After the meeting, Mr. Trump gave $10,000 to Ms. Hughes’s organization. Around the same time, he told the conservative radio host Wendy Bell, ‘I’m financially supporting people that are incredible, and they were in my office actually two days ago.’ Mr. Trump later gave a video statement of support at one of the organization’s fund-raising events at a hotel in Washington.” [New York Times, 4/13/24]
The Trump Campaign Sued Michigan’s Governor And Secretary Of State For Allowing Additional State Agencies To Register Voters. According to WJRT, “The Trump campaign has filed a lawsuit against top Michigan Democrat officials over new voter registration rules. The lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court claims Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson improperly allowed the Michigan Department of Veterans Affairs and Small Business Administration to register voters. The campaign says Michigan passed a law that set a date of Jan. 10, 1995, for the governor's office to designate state agencies as able to register new voters. The VA and Small Business Administration were not on that list. However, Whitmer issued an executive directive on Dec. 18, 2023, that allowed more state and federal agencies to register voters in Michigan, including the Department of Veterans Affairs. Benson reached an agreement with the Small Business Administration in March, allowing the agency's offices in Michigan to register voters. The campaign says both additions to the state's list of voter registration agencies was improper because the Michigan Legislature did not approve the changes.” [WJRT, 7/15/24]
Trump Refused To Explicitly Say He Would Accept The Results Of The 2024 Presidential Election. According to the BBC, “Donald Trump has refused to explicitly say whether he will accept the result of November's US presidential election. During his first debate with President Joe Biden on Thursday, Trump was asked three times whether he would accept the outcome ‘regardless of who wins", finally answering: “If it's a fair and legal and good election, absolutely.’ Trump lost his shot at a second presidential term to Mr Biden in the 2020 election. He has since consistently claimed that the vote was rigged against him, without providing any evidence. During Thursday night's debate, Trump repeated these claims, and played down his role in the 6 January riot on Capitol Hill.” [BBC, 6/28/24]
October 2018: Trump Endorsed Mark Harris For The 9th Congressional District Of North Carolina. According to the Charlotte Business Journal, “President Donald Trump delivered a 75-minute speech on Friday night to a near-capacity crowd at Bojangles’ Coliseum, where he spent most of his time touting his record while occasionally urging support for Republican congressional candidates Ted Budd and Mark Harris. This was Trump’s second visit to Charlotte in two months — a sign of how tight the midterm U.S. House races are for Budd, the incumbent in the 13th District, and Harris, a former pastor here who defeated three-term 9th District incumbent Robert Pittenger in the primary.” [Charlotte Business Journal, 10/27/18]
Trump Endorsed And Hosted Multiple Rallies For Harris’s Campaign. According to the New Yorker, “Although gerrymandering hand kept the Ninth District in Republican hands for nearly two generations, analysts speculated that not even the multiple rallies that President Donald Trump held for Harris’s campaign could stop the ‘blue wave.’” [New Yorker, 8/24/19]
December 2018: The North Carolina State Board Of Elections Refused To Certify The Election In The Face Of Allegations Of Absentee Ballot Tampering. According to Vox, “North Carolina election officials have declined to certify the winner of the state’s Ninth Congressional District election, after allegations were made suggesting absentee ballots may have been tampered with. Elections officials and Democrats have been careful not to allege any specific wrongdoing so far. But the allegations suggest some kind of scheme, undertaken by people supporting the GOP campaign, to influence the results of an election ultimately decided by less than 1,000 votes. According to the votes as currently counted, Republican Mark Harris beat Democrat Dan McCready by a little more than 900 votes to become the next Congress member from the Ninth. But earlier this week, the state board of elections unanimously agreed it would not certify the election results, making vague references to “unfortunate activities” that raised doubts about their veracity.” [Vox, 12/4/18]
December 31, 2018: Despite Trump’s Fixation On Voter Fraud Conspiracy Theories, Trump Encouraged Harris To “Stand And Fight” Against Allegations Of Election Fraud. According to Think Progress, “Despite making numerous baseless claims about voter fraud over the years, President Donald Trump has remained silent on the contested congressional race in North Carolina’s 9th district, where allegations of election fraud centering around a Republican operative have prevented the state from certifying results. But Mark Harris — the Republican candidate who was thought to have won a narrow victory over Democrat Dan McCready before his campaign’s connections to Leslie McCrae Dowless Jr. came to light — revealed on Tuesday that Trump has encouraged him to ‘stand and fight.’” [Think Progress, 1/8/19]
The NC State Board Of Elections Heard Four Days Of Witness Testimony Of A Scheme By Leslie McCrae Dowless Who Was Hired By Harris’ Campaign To Pay Workers To Harvest Absentee Ballots In Rural North Carolina. According to The Hill, “The vote capped off four days of witness testimonies detailing an alleged scheme by Leslie McCrae Dowless, a political operative hired by Harris’s campaign, to pay workers to collect absentee ballots from voters in rural Bladen County. Under North Carolina state law, only a voter or a close relative can turn in or mail an absentee ballot.” [The Hill, 2/21/19]
Harris’ Son Testified That He Had Told His Father In 2017 That He Suspected Dowless’ Operation Was Illegal. According to The Hill, “Harris’s son, John Harris, also testified in the hearing on Wednesday that he told his father in 2017 he suspected that Dowless’s absentee ballot work may have been unlawful. Despite those warnings, the elder Harris directed Dowless’s hiring. “I thought what he was doing was illegal, and I was right,” John Harris told the elections board on Wednesday.” [The Hill, 2/21/19]
February 21, 2019: The NC State Board Of Elections Voted To Hold A New Election Just After Harris Called For A New Election. According to The Hill, “The North Carolina State Board of Elections voted unanimously Thursday to call a new election in the state’s 9th Congressional District after days of hearing evidence of alleged ballot fraud. The decision came after Republican Mark Harris, one of the candidates in the race, expressed support for a new election, saying that allegations of a ballot-tampering scheme marred the current results.” [The Hill, 2/21/19]
February 22, 2019: Trump Would Not Condemn The Election Fraud In North Carolina. According to Politico, “President Donald Trump on Friday declined to condemn the strong evidence of mass election fraud in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District, instead pointing to other questionable examples of voter fraud. One day after the North Carolina State Board of Elections voted unanimously to order a new election, Trump deflected when asked about his relative silence on the disputed race.” [Politico, 2/22/19]
July, 2019: Dowless Was Charged With Two Counts Of Obstruction, Perjury, Solicitation, Conspiracy, And Illegal Possession Of Ballots. According to NPR, “Prosecutors in North Carolina filed new felony charges against a Republican political operative accused of ballot tampering in a congressional election in 2018. Leslie McCrae Dowless was charged Tuesday with two counts of felony obstruction of justice, perjury, solicitation to commit perjury, conspiracy to obstruct justice and illegal possession of absentee ballots, according to a statement by Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman.” [NPR, 7/30/19]
Dowless Passed Away Before The Case Went To Trial. According to the Associated Press, “Leslie McCrae Dowless Jr., the key player in a North Carolina absentee ballot fraud probe that led to a do-over congressional election, has died. His daughter, Andrea Dowless Heverly, wrote that her father ‘passed away peacefully’ Sunday morning, according to a social media post. He had been diagnosed with an advanced form of lung cancer and died at his daughter’s home in Bladen County, his friend Jay DeLancy told The Associated Press in a brief interview. Dowless was in his mid-60s. The political operative was set to go on trial this summer on more than a dozen state criminal counts related to absentee ballot activities for the 2016 general election and the 2018 primary and general elections. A half-dozen others were also charged.” [Associated Press, 4/24/22]
Trump Floated The Idea That His First Two Years In Office Were Stolen Because Of The Mueller Investigation And He Should Extend His Term. According to Politico, “President Donald Trump on Sunday floated the idea of extending his constitutionally limited time in office, complaining online that two years of his first White House term were ‘stollen’ as a result of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. ‘I now support reparations — Trump should have 2 yrs added to his 1st term as pay back for time stolen by this corrupt failed coup,’ Jerry Falwell Jr., a conservative religious leader and Trump ally, tweeted in a message reposted by the president. Trump echoed Falwell’s sentiment in a pair of tweets an hour later,” [Politico, 5/5/19]
Trump: “They Have ‘Stollen’ Two Years Of My (Our) Presidency (Collusion Delusion) That We Will Never Be Able To Get Back.” According to Politico, “‘Despite the tremendous success that I have had as President, including perhaps the greatest ECONOMY and most successful first two years of any President in history, they have stollen two years of my (our) Presidency (Collusion Delusion) that we will never be able to get back.’ He added: ‘The Witch Hunt is over but we will never forget. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!’” [Politico, 5/5/19]
March 2018: Trump Praised President Xi Jinping For Making Himself President For Life And Suggested The U.S. Should Try That. According to CNN, “In the closed-door remarks, a recording of which was obtained by CNN, Trump also praised China’s President Xi Jinping for recently consolidating power and extending his potential tenure, musing he wouldn’t mind making such a maneuver himself. ‘He’s now president for life. President for life. No, he’s great,’ Trump said. ‘And look, he was able to do that. I think it’s great. Maybe we’ll have to give that a shot some day.’” [CNN, 3/8/18]
April 2018: Trump Joked About Being President For 16 Years: “Should We Go Back To 16 Years? Congressman, Can We Have That Extended? […] No, I’m Not Looking To Do It, Unless You Want To Do It.” According to Newsweek, “President Donald Trump, who has previously heralded Chinese President Xi Jinping being enabled to rule for life, joked about being president for 16 years during a speech at the White House Thursday. Trump was appearing on the White House lawn to tout the benefits of recently passed tax cuts when he slipped into a claim about his administration’s effectiveness at cutting regulations. ‘We’ve cut more regulations in a year and a quarter than any administration, whether it’s four years, eight years or, in one case, 16 years,’ he said. ‘Should we go back to 16 years? Congressman, can we have that extended? The last time I jokingly said that, the papers started saying ‘he’s got despotic tendencies!’ No, I’m not looking to do it, unless you want to do it.’” [Newsweek, 4/12/18]
June 2019: Trump Said His Supporters Would Want Him To Serve More Than Two Terms As President. According to Business Insider, “President Donald Trump seemed to be at odds with the 22nd Amendment of the Constitution in a series of tweets on Sunday that questioned presidential term limits and suggested his supporters ‘would demand that I stay longer’ than 2024, which is when he would leave office if he won the 2020 presidential election.” [Business Insider, 6/17/19]
August 2019: Trump Said He Could Be President For 14 More Years. According to Independent, “Donald Trump has again mused about serving more than the legal limit of two terms as US president, during an extraordinary exchange with reporters outside the White House. […] ‘Let me tell you. In six years – or maybe 10 or maybe 14, right? – in six years, when I’m not here, the New York Times goes out of business very quickly.’ While the president has joked with increasing frequency about continuing as president beyond 2025 – when he would be required by the constitution to step down – his latest reference displayed no clear indication he was attempting be humorous.” [Independent, 8/22/19]
Pelosi Worried Trump Would Not Voluntarily Give Up Power If He Lost Re-Election. According to The New York Times, “Speaker Nancy Pelosi does not believe President Trump can be removed through impeachment — the only way to do it, she said this week, is to defeat him in 2020 by a margin so ‘big’ he cannot challenge the legitimacy of a Democratic victory. That is something she worries about. ‘We have to inoculate against that, we have to be prepared for that,’ Ms. Pelosi said during an interview at the Capitol on Wednesday as she discussed her concern that Mr. Trump would not give up power voluntarily if he lost re-election by a slim margin next year.” [New York Times, 5/4/19]
Trump Told His “Beautiful Christians” That If They Vote For Him, In” “Four More Years” They Would Not “Have To Vote Anymore.” According to the New York Times, “He admonished them for not voting in large enough numbers. ‘I don’t want to scold you,’ he said, ‘but did you know that Christians do not vote proportionately? They don’t vote like they should.’ He promised that if they could please just suck it up and vote for him one last time, he would grant all their wishes, and they’d never have to bother with the ballot box ever again. ‘You won’t have to do it anymore,’ exhorted the former president. ‘Four more years, it’ll be fixed, it’ll be fine, you won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians.’” [New York Times, 7/28/24]
Intelligence Officers Said Trump Displayed “Willful Ignorance” To Analyses Presented By American Intelligence And Angry Reactions To Information That Contradicts Positions He Took Publicly. According to Time, “Citing multiple in-person episodes, these intelligence officials say Trump displays what one called ‘willful ignorance’ when presented with analyses generated by America’s $81 billion-a-year intelligence services. The officials, who include analysts who prepare Trump’s briefs and the briefers themselves, describe futile attempts to keep his attention by using visual aids, confining some briefing points to two or three sentences, and repeating his name and title as frequently as possible. What is most troubling, say these officials and others in government and on Capitol Hill who have been briefed on the episodes, are Trump’s angry reactions when he is given information that contradicts positions he has taken or beliefs he holds. Two intelligence officers even reported that they have been warned to avoid giving the President intelligence assessments that contradict stances he has taken in public.” [Time, 2/5/19]
January 2019: Trump Said U.S. Intelligence That Iran Was Not Conducting Rocket Testing Was Wrong. According to the Washington Post, “President Trump lashed out at the government’s most senior intelligence leaders Wednesday, his latest assault on the spies and analysts who work for him but sometimes deliver facts that he doesn’t want to hear. Triggering the president’s rage was an annual congressional hearing on global security threats, a routine event at which intelligence agency heads testified that Iran, while still a global menace, is complying with an international agreement designed to prevent the country from acquiring nuclear weapons. Trump ridiculed that assessment and the intelligence leaders themselves. ‘The Intelligence people seem to be extremely passive and naive when it comes to the dangers of Iran. They are wrong!’ Trump wrote on Twitter. ‘. . . They are testing Rockets (last week) and more, and are coming very close to the edge. There [sic] economy is now crashing, which is the only thing holding them back. Be careful of Iran.’ AD Trump added: ‘Perhaps Intelligence should go back to school!’” [Washington Post, 1/31/19]
Trump’s Director Of National Intelligence And His Deputies Were Reportedly Fired After An Official In The Office Briefed Congress Without Trump’s Knowledge On Russia’s Ongoing Election Interference. According to Politico, “Maguire and several of his deputies were reportedly fired because an official in his office, election security expert Shelby Pierson, briefed Congress without Trump’s knowledge on Russia’s ongoing election interference, though the White House is disputing that version of events. The NSA, CIA, and Pentagon have been urged by the White House not to share information about Russia and Ukraine with lawmakers, while the ‘Gang of Eight’ senior members of Congress were bypassed leading up to at least one major intelligence operation. And intelligence community leaders have backed out of the public portion of the annual worldwide threats hearing, fearing Trump’s wrath if their assessments don’t align with his.” [Politico, 2/26/20]
Politico: The Firing Of Trump’s Director Of National Intelligence “Was Emblematic Of Trump’s Determination To Quash Disloyalty.” According to Politico, “The purge of the nation’s chief intelligence overseer was swift, and emblematic of Trump’s determination to hastily quash any hint of disloyalty: Maguire had been telling staff just days before his ouster that he believed he could be nominated to serve as permanent director, according to a former senior intelligence official. He then learned about his firing from reporters reaching out for comment before publication, and had to call the national security adviser to confirm that he’d been replaced by Grenell.” [Politico, 2/26/20]
Trump Stated He Would Nominate Rep. John Ratcliff As The Next Director Of National Intelligence, The Second Time He Has Put Forward A Congressional Ally For The Job. According to Politico, “President Donald Trump on Friday said he would nominate Rep. John Ratcliffe as the next director of national intelligence — the second time he has put forward his fierce congressional ally for the job. The Texas Republican was previously announced in July as Trump's next intel chief, only to be withdrawn five days later amid muted support from GOP senators and questions about whether he had overstated his qualifications. Trump's decision to nominate the congressman a second time will revive what is expected to be a testy confirmation battle to install a close political ally at the top of an intelligence apparatus Trump has frequently derided. ‘John is an outstanding man of great talent!’ Trump said on Twitter when he made the announcement. The intelligence agencies are currently run by an acting director, Ric Grenell, who can only serve through March 11 unless the White House nominates a permanent replacement. Grenell can now stay on while Ratcliffe's nomination is pending.” [Politico, 2/28/20]
ODNI Informed The House And Senate Committees On Intelligence That They Will No Longer Be Briefing In-Person On Election Security Issues. According to CNN, “The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has informed the House and Senate Select Committees on Intelligence that it'll no longer be briefing in-person on election security issues, according to letters obtained by CNN. Instead, ODNI will primarily provide written updates to the congressional panels, a senior administration official said. The official added that other agencies supporting election security, including the Department of Justice, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security, intend to continue briefing Congress. Still, the abrupt announcement is a change that runs counter to the pledge of transparency and regular briefings on election threats by the intelligence community.” [CNN, 8/29/20]
The Announcement Came After The Top Intelligence Official On Election Security Issued A Statement That China, Russia And Iran Sought To Interfere In The 2020 Election. According to CNN, “It also comes after the top intelligence official on election security issued a statement earlier this month saying China, Russia and Iran are seeking to interfere in the 2020 US election, a warning that prompted some backlash from Democrats on Capitol Hill who have continued to push for the public release of more information about the nature of those efforts. US officials charged with protecting the 2020 election also said last week that they have ‘no information or intelligence’ foreign countries, including Russia, are attempting to undermine any part of the mail-in voting process, contradicting President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly pushed false claims that foreign adversaries are targeting mail ballots as part of a ‘rigged’ presidential race. Specifically, a senior intelligence official discounted the possibility of foreign actors mass producing fake ballots to interfere in the November elections, again breaking with Trump who has continued to insist that mail-in voting poses a significant threat to election security. ‘We have no information or intelligence that any nation state threat actor is engaging in activity ... to undermine any part of the mail-in vote or ballots,’ the official told reporters on Wednesday.” [CNN, 8/29/20]
New York Times: Trump Has “Been At War With Law Enforcement Agencies” Over Investigations Into His 2016 Campaign According to the New York Times, “For more than a year, President Trump has been at war with law enforcement agencies that answer to him, interjecting himself into an investigation in which he himself is a subject. And he has escalated the conflict drastically in recent days by accusing the F.B.I. of placing a ‘spy’ inside his 2016 campaign, pressuring the agencies to reveal secret information and demanding an investigation of his investigators.” [New York Times, 5/26/18]
Former U.S. Attorney: “Trump Is Trying To Poison Public Opinion Against The F.B.I. For His Own Reasons.” According to the New York Times, “’To turn on the F.B.I. using this loaded language like ‘spy’ and ‘infiltrate,’ President Trump is trying to poison public opinion against the F.B.I. for his own reasons,’ said Barbara McQuade, a career federal prosecutor who served as United States attorney in Michigan under President Barack Obama. ‘He may be successful, but I worry about the impact his kind of rhetoric has on the public when the F.B.I. is investigating a case of kidnapping or bank robbery and the president has told them they’re not trustworthy.’” [New York Times, 5/26/18]
Trump Called American Anti-Terrorism Justice System Was “A Laughingstock” And “A Joke.” According to the New York Times, “In discussing the Manhattan truck attack with his cabinet on Wednesday, President Trump denounced the American criminal justice system as ‘a laughingstock’ and ‘a joke’ that is too weak to deter terrorism and too slow to mete out punishment. […] ‘We also have to come up with punishment that’s far quicker and far greater than the punishment these animals are getting right now. They’ll go through court for years,’ Mr. Trump said. ‘We need quick justice, and we need strong justice, much quicker and much stronger than we have right now. Because what we have right now is a joke and it’s a laughingstock. And no wonder so much of this stuff takes place.’” [New York Times, 11/2/17]
Trump Said He Was “Disappointed” In The Justice Department. According to the New York Times, “’I’m really not involved with the Justice Department,’ Mr. Trump told reporters before leaving on a 12-day trip to Asia. ‘I’d like to let it run itself. But honestly, they should be looking at the Democrats. They should be looking at Podesta and all of that dishonesty. They should be looking at a lot of things. And a lot of people are disappointed in the Justice Department, including me.’” [New York Times, 11/3/17]
Trump Called FBI Employees He Believed Acted Improperly “Scum.” According to CNN, “During a rally on Tuesday night, Trump used the word ‘scum’ to refer to FBI employees he believes acted improperly.” [CNN, 12/12/19]
Trump Attacked The Chicago Police Superintendent During An Annual Police Chief Gathering In Chicago. According to Business Insider, “President Donald Trump was in his element while speaking at the annual gathering of the International Association of Chiefs of Police in Chicago on Monday. He went on tangent after tangent, singled out and targeted a local law enforcement official in front of his colleagues, […] The president continued and attacked Eddie Johnson, the superintendent of Chicago police. ‘There is one person that’s not here today,’ Trump said. ‘We’re in Chicago. I said, ‘Where is he? I want to talk to him.’ This person should be here. Maybe he could learn something.’ Johnson said earlier that he would not attend the event because his values diverged from Trump’s. Referring to Johnson’s remarks, Trump said, ‘That’s a very insulting statement after all I’ve done for the police.’ The president also said that under Johnson’s leadership, Chicago police ‘certainly don’t protect people’ and don’t cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in targeting illegal immigration. ‘Eddie Johnson wants to talk about values?’ Trump said. ‘Those values, to me, are a disgrace.’” [Business Insider, 10/28/19]
Former FBI Agent: Trump’s Comments Could Have A “Chilling Effect” On The Workforce. According to CNN, “Tuesday night, Trump used the word ‘scum’ to refer to FBI employees he believes acted improperly. ‘These comments will have a chilling effect on the workforce,’ said one recently retired agent who has handled surveillance warrants under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the kind abused according to the inspector general report.” [CNN, 12/12/19]
FBI Officials Warned That Anti-FBI Rhetoric From Trump And Barr Would Make Agents Less Aggressive Pursuing Sensitive Investigations Fearing Department Of Justice Retaliation. According to CNN, “Current and former FBI officials tell CNN they’re concerned that the harsh rhetoric coming from Trump and Barr has only worsened the bureau’s already tenuous standing with the President, leaving them wondering whether federal agents could be less aggressive the next time they have to pursue a sensitive investigation. ‘We’re constantly told to be agile and use all the legal tools available to us,’ said one FBI employee who works on counterintelligence matters. ‘But who is going to risk sticking their neck out now only to have DOJ chop it off?’” [CNN, 12/12/19]
Trump Refers To Reporters As “Scum,” “Enemy Of The People,” “Stupid,” “Very Rude,” “Liars,” And “The Lowest Form Of Human Life” At Campaign Rallies. According to the Daily Beast, “Salazar-Ferro attributed the surge in U.S. journalists’ anxiety largely to Trump, who at campaign rallies regularly refers to the reporters who cover him as ‘scum,’ ‘the enemy of the people,’ ‘stupid,’ ‘very rude,’ ‘liars,’ and ‘the lowest form of human life’—an insult which at least grants journalists their humanity.” [Daily Beast, 2/4/20]
Trump Tweeted Negatively About The Media 548 Times, Or 11% Of Original Tweets, In 2019. According to the Press Freedom Tracker, “From Jan. 20, 2019 to Jan. 19, 2020, Trump tweeted negatively about the media 548 times — almost as many as his first two years in office combined. That means that more than 11% of the president’s original tweets focused on delegitimizing and insulting the U.S. media (the database doesn’t include retweets).” [Press Freedom Tracker, 1/20/20]
American Confidence In The Press Was Correlated With Party/Trump Approval: 40% Of Republicans Thought Journalists Had “Very Low” Ethical Standards Vs. 5% Of Democrats Holding That Opinion. According to The New York Times, “Few presidents have affected the perception of journalism like this one. A Pew survey this month found that Americans’ confidence in news coverage is closely correlated to their opinion of Mr. Trump. Forty percent of Republicans who strongly approve of the president’s job performance said that journalists have ‘very low’ ethical standards, versus only 5 percent of Democrats.” [New York Times, 12/30/19]
Meme Video Showing Trump Shooting Members Of News Media Was Shown At AMP Fest At Trump National Golf Club, Doral. According to the New York Times, “A video depicting a macabre scene of a fake President Trump shooting, stabbing and brutally assaulting members of the news media and his political opponents was shown at a conference for his supporters at his Miami resort last week, according to footage obtained by The New York Times. Several of Mr. Trump’s top surrogates — including his son Donald Trump Jr., his former spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis — were scheduled to speak at the three-day conference, which was held by a pro-Trump group, American Priority, at Trump National Doral Miami. Ms. Sanders and a person close to Mr. Trump’s son said on Sunday that they did not see the video at the conference.” [New York Times, 10/13/19]
June 2018: Five Journalists From Capital Gazette Were Shot After Gunman Stormed Newsroom. According to the Baltimore Sun, “A gunman blasted his way into the Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis with a shotgun Thursday afternoon, killing five people, authorities said.” [Baltimore Sun, 6/29/18]
Rachael Pacella, A Capital Gazette Shooting Survivor, Said Trump’s Tweets Bashing The Media Made Her Fear For Her Life. According to The Hill, “Rachael Pacella is one of the journalists who survived the attack on the Annapolis, Md., newspaper last June. Five of her colleagues were shot and killed. ‘As one of six survivors of our nation’s only newsroom mass shooting, seeing generalized media-bashing tweets from the president makes me fear for my life,’ Pacella tweeted. ‘His words have power, and give bad actors justification to act.’ The reporter was responding to one of the president’s morning tweets blasting the ‘dishonest’ press.” [Hill, 2/20/19]
Capital Gazette Editorial Board: “We Won’t Forget Being Called An Enemy OF The People.” According to the Capital Gazette editorial board, “Here’s what else we won’t forget: Death threats and emails from people we don’t know celebrating our loss, or the people who called for one of our reporters to get fired because she got angry and cursed on national television after witnessing her friends getting shot. We won’t forget being called an enemy of the people.” [Capital Gazette, Editorial, 7/1/18]
@RealDonaldTrump: “The Election Is Absolutely Being Rigged By The Dishonest And Distorted Media Pushing Crooked Hillary - But Also At Many Polling Places – SAD.” [Twitter, 10/16/16]
@RealDonaldTrump: “Election Is Being Rigged By The Media, In A Coordinated Effort With The Clinton Campaign, By Putting Stories That Never Happened Into News!” [Twitter, 10/16/16]
@RealDonaldTrump: “Watched Saturday Night Live Hit Job On Me.Time To Retire The Boring And Unfunny Show. Alec Baldwin Portrayal Stinks. Media Rigging Election!” [Twitter, 10/16/16]
Trump On Debates: “Let Hillary And I Sit There And Just Debate, Because I Think That The System Is Being Rigged, So I Think It’s Going To Be A Very Unfair Debate.” According to Business Insider, “Donald Trump said Monday he would prefer to take on Hillary Clinton without a moderator at a coming presidential debate. ‘Let Hillary and I sit there and just debate, because I think that the system is being rigged, so I think it’s going to be a very unfair debate,’ Trump said on CNBC.” [Business Insider, 9/12/16]
Charles Koch Institute: Press Plays A Vital Role In Informing Citizens And When Leaders Threaten Free Press, They Threaten Liberty. According to the Charles Koch Institute, “Freedom of the press is important because it plays a vital role in informing citizens about public affairs and monitoring the actions of government at all levels. While the media may be unpopular —43 percent of Americans say the media supports democracy ‘very poorly’ or ‘poorly,’ a Knight Foundation/Gallup report found — this role should not be forgotten. […] Why is freedom of the press important in a democracy? When our leaders threaten journalists, they are threatening the First Amendment, along with our most basic rights. ‘Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press,’ said Jefferson, ‘and that cannot be limited without being lost.’” [Charles Koch Institute, accessed 2/11/20]
ACLU: Free Press “Is Critical To A Democracy.” According to the American Civil Liberties Union, “The freedom of the press, protected by the First Amendment, is critical to a democracy in which the government is accountable to the people. A free media functions as a watchdog that can investigate and report on government wrongdoing. It is also a vibrant marketplace of ideas, a vehicle for ordinary citizens to express themselves and gain exposure to a wide range of information and opinions.” [American Civil Liberties Union, accessed 2/11/20]
White House Officials Said They Were Building Up A “Dossier” On Fahrenthold In Response To Reporting On Government Spending At Trump Properties Claiming “The Washington Post Is Blatantly Interfering With The Business Relationships Of The Trump Organization.” According to the Washington Post, “In response to questions for this report, White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement that Trump has ‘turned over the day-to-day responsibilities of running the company though he was not required to, [and] has sacrificed billions of dollars’ because of discarded deals. Deere did not directly address questions related to the second set of promises Trump made before taking office — the promises that he would not use his presidency to help the Trump Organization. ‘The Washington Post is blatantly interfering with the business relationships of the Trump Organization, and it must stop,” Deere wrote in his statement. “Please be advised that we are building up a very large ‘dossier’ on the many false David Fahrenthold and others stories as they are a disgrace to journalism and the American people.’” [Washington Post, 8/27/20]
Trump Threw Two Phones Belonging To NBC Reporter Vaughn Hillyard After He Asked Trump About The Stormy Daniels Investigation. According to Vanity Fair, “It was March and former president Donald Trump was aboard his plane with a gaggle of reporters following a campaign rally in Waco, Texas. He started off in good spirits. But then a line of questioning from NBC News reporter Vaughn Hillyard, who suggested that Trump had in recent days seemed ‘frustrated’ by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s investigation, began irritating the former president. ‘Don’t ask me any more questions,’ Trump said. About 10 minutes later, as Hillyard continued to ask about the investigation, Trump snapped, grabbing the reporter’s two phones and chucking them to the side, according to a source familiar with the matter. ‘Get him out of here,’ Trump told his aides, according to a recording obtained by Vanity Fair.” [Vanity Fair, 5/1/23]
Trump Told Hillyard “You’re Not A Nice Guy” And Said To “Get Him Out Of Here.” According to Vanity Fair, “Hillyard’s questions revolved around Trump’s posts on Truth Social at the time; the former president had warned that there could be ‘potential death and destruction’ if he was indicted. When Hillyard again tried to clarify Trump’s ‘version of events’ around the DA’s investigation, the ex-president said, ‘I don’t want to talk to you.’ Hillyard tried to ask another question. ‘Do you hear me? You’re not a nice guy,’ Trump said, turning to take a question from another reporter. When Hillyard tried a third time to get a response, Trump lost it. ‘Alright, let’s go, get him out of here,’ Trump said. ‘Outta here. Outta here,’ Trump said, as Hillyard kept trying: ‘The special counsel, sir.’ A deeper voice, apparently belonging to a Trump campaign aide, can be heard saying, ‘Vaughn, we’re done.’” [Vanity Fair, 5/1/23]
Trump’s Campaign Reduced Mainstream Press Access Since The Waco Rally. According to Vanity Fair, “The Trump campaign appears to have reduced mainstream press access as a result of what happened on the plane back from Waco. The only reporters on Trump’s plane for last week’s trip to New Hampshire were from friendly conservative outlets: Henry Rodgers of The Daily Caller and Daniel Baldwin of OANN. Baldwin, in his write-up of the trip, wrote of the ‘warm’ and ‘welcoming’ former president, ‘It’s clear Trump values the opinions of everyone he surrounds himself with, whether he agrees or disagrees. He even turned to me and said, ‘You really know your sports.’' In a surprising turn, Trump is slated to participate in a town hall on CNN next week.” [Vanity Fair, 5/1/23]