Former President Donald Trump may be facing charges for alleged election interference, but that’s not stopping him from continuing to make election fraud claims.
He even went as far as to tell his supporters not to vote at all Monday during a speech in New Hampshire.
“You’ve got to get out there and watch those voters,” Trump said. “You don’t have to vote – don’t worry about voting, the voting – we’ve got plenty of votes.”
Trump is currently the frontrunner to be the GOP candidate in 2024, with around 57% of Republican voters supporting him, per FiveThirtyEight data collected as of Tuesday. However, USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll results released Monday show that he is tied with President Joe Biden at the national level.
In 2020, Biden beat Trump in the presidential election. Even before the election results came in, the Trump camp began making claims about election fraud. Their actions surrounding the election have been tied to the deadly Jan. 6 capitol riot and have landed Trump in a heap of legal trouble that some experts believe could prevent him from appearing on the ballot next year.
During his speech in New Hampshire, Trump touted the voter turnout for him in 2020. He also continued to indicate that election fraud is an issue in the U.S., despite the fact that he has not been able to provide any evidence to back up his fraud claims.
Although the former president appeared to embrace the concept of mail-in voting this spring, he seemed to return to rhetoric about same-day voting and “paper ballots” Monday. Trump’s comments on voting included a full recitation of Al Wilson’s 1968 song “The Snake”, about a woman who takes in a snake only for it to bite her.
“Does that make sense?” he asked after finishing. He also told his supporters to watch out for “wheelbarrows” full of votes.
As Trump continues to use his election fraud claims as a campaign talking point, others charged as co-conspirators alongside him in a Fulton County, Ga., case have pleaded guilty. Lawyer Sidney Powell is one of them – she pleaded guilty to reduced charges last week.