Trump's been making unfounded election fraud claims. Now he's threatened prison sentences for it.
WASHINGTON - Former President Donald Trump is repeating his false claims of election fraud that culminated in the insurrection of Jan. 6 2021 and even going further and threatening to prosecute his political opponents for it.
Numerous recounts, reviews and forensic audits have affirmed that the 2020 presidential election results are legitimate.
Now, Trump is claiming without evidence that Democrats are trying to cheat in the 2024 race.
At the Turning Point Action’s "The Believers' Summit" in July, Trump accused Democrats of not wanting to require voters to show photo ID because they “want to cheat.” In a Truth Social Post Saturday, Trump went a step further by threatening to jail political operatives and election officials, among others, for election fraud.
“The 2024 Election, where Votes have just started being cast, will be under the closest professional scrutiny and, WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again,” he wrote.
'Dangerous for democratic stability'
Political science and democracy experts told USA TODAY that Trump’s attempts to sow uncertainty around the security of the 2024 race will only increase the risk of political violence if he loses in November.
“There is no evidence to support Trump's claims…His rhetoric is dangerous for democratic stability, his dangerous rhetoric around the elections threatens the nation's belief in free and fair elections,” said Jennifer Mercieca, a Texas A&M University professor of communications and journalism and author of the book “Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump.”
Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt in an emailed statement to USA TODAY said that "the American people agree with President Trump that without free and fair elections, you can’t have a country."
"The fake news is obsessed with talking about President Trump’s commitment to ensuring the integrity of our nation's elections but refuse to cover the Democrats long history of denying election results, including their unconstitutional attempts to kick both President Trump and RFK Jr. off the ballot," she said.
A string of baseless claims
Trump’s accusations of election fraud have only grown more ubiquitous on the campaign trail in the final homestretch before Election Day.
"The only way they can do anything is if they cheat like hell and we’ve been victims of that," Trump said at an Aug. 30 rally in Arizona. "We don’t need the votes, we just want to make sure that they don’t cheat.”
At an Aug. 30 rally in Pennsylvania, Trump told his supporters to vote because "we want a landslide that is too big to rig."
Last month in an interview with Dr. Phil, Trump claimed that “Democrats play a different game. And you have ballot harvesting, but you also have people getting ballots. I mean, in California, you have people getting seven ballots. If Jesus Christ came down and was the vote counter, I would win California.”
There is no evidence of California residents each getting seven ballots, and the claim that Trump would be the first Republican to win California since 1988 is wildly implausible under any circumstance.
“As to why he’s extremely, extremely unlikely to win California, all one has to do is look at past statewide election results," Grant Reeher, a professor of political science at Syracuse University, said. "The state is very blue, and has been sending liberal senators to Washington, and electing liberal governors."
At a Fraternal Order of Police meeting in North Carolina last week, Trump once again suggested that Democrats can only win by fraudulent means in 2024. “Watch for the voter fraud, because we win without voter fraud,” Trump said.
“You can keep it down just by watching, because, believe it or not, they’re afraid of that badge,” he added.
The New York Times noted that Trump's appeal to police officers to get involved in election administration, "could run afoul of multiple state laws and raise accusations of voter intimidation."
Trump has also claimed for months that his criminal trials are an “election intereference” plot by the Biden administration and Democrats. Numerous experts previously said there’s no evidence of that.
But might voters buy Trump's claims anyway? Mercieca said that at this point, “it’s hard to say what people will believe.”
Republicans laying the groundwork to challenge 2024 election outcome
Experts say Trump is trying to set up another effort to overturn a loss, like his failed attempt to reverse his defeat in 2020.
“If he succeeds in persuading the public that the elections are not free or fair, then they will be more likely to allow him to seize power without being voted into office," Mercieca said.
But another Jan. 6 happening at the Capitol in 2025 is unlikely given that Trump is currently not in office and leaders would be prepared for it, Reeher said.
“Having said that, rhetoric like this is reckless and dangerous. It can only increase the risk of violence breaking out somewhere, if not at the U.S. Capitol,” he said.
The Republican National Committee, fueled by 2020 election misinformation, have filed lawsuits in states such as Nevada and Michigan to change the way absentee ballots are processed, who should be included in voter rolls and other actions.
Trump and Republicans in Congress, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have promoted the false claim that noncitizens are voting in federal elections, despite multiple studies showing it is an extremely rare occurrence and it is already a federal crime.
Democrats have pushed back against Trump and his allies, arguing the former president is a threat to democracy.
“Let us not forget who assaulted Democracy on January 6: HE did. But let us not forget who saved Democracy that day: WE did,” Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., shared in a tweet on X. "Thank God we had a Democratic House then — we will need a Democratic House and President on January 6, 2025.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump is casting doubt on the validity of 2024 race. What this means.