He’s losing in the polls and the leaders of his own party are abandoning him faster than rats on a sinking ship, but Donald Trump has found a new trick to hype up his supporters: conspiracy theories about a rigged election. He not only claims the election is being fixed by the elites in the political establishment, he also alleges there is widespread voter fraud in the system. Does this claim have any merit?
In a rally in Wisconsin, the Republican nominee called out to his supporters and said, “This election is rigged. It is!” During the speech, he cited a Pew Research study and a study from The Washington Post to illustrate his point. However, Politico points out that these studies don’t actually prove Trump’s argument. While both do show problems in the voter registration system, neither study points to a widespread voter fraud.
The Pew Research poll DID show that 24 million voter registrations, or one in eight, are invalid—but not because of the reason Trump believes. The study shows many people are registered in different states or simply just died at the time of the study, so it’s not like all these invalid registrations are being used to cast fraudulent votes. The study’s authors don’t conclude that there’s any widespread voter fraud issue. Instead, they just suggest the system is inefficient and needs to be updated. The Post study did that many non-citizens are potentially voting, but the authors think that’s just because people don’t understand whether or not they have the right to vote. The study also received several rebuttals and critiques, and it’s unlikely Trump read all of those before coming to his conclusions.
President Barack Obama commented on this new allegation, calling it unprecedented and even saying Trump is “whining,” according to The New York Times. In a Rose Garden press conference with the Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, Obama said, “I have never seen in my lifetime or in modern political history, any presidential candidate try to discredit the elections and the election process before votes have even take place.”
Trump’s own running mate, Mike Pence, hasn’t been able to get behind the allegation—he says his running mate simply disagrees with the “obvious” media bias. Trump has also suggested this is a cause of the fix, tweeting the following:
Yet more evidence of a media-rigged election: https://t.co/rVh4ocgx3r
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 17, 2016
Crooked Hillary colluded w/FBI and DOJ and media is covering up to protect her. It’s a #RiggedSystem! Our country deserves better! pic.twitter.com/n2NpH3zmcy
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 17, 2016
Media bias may exist, yes, but come on. We can’t blame the media for everything. Many of his fellow Republicans have distanced themselves from this claim, a move Trump called “naive” in a tweet.
The claims of voter fraud are worrisome, as they suggest Trump and his supporters might attempt to challenge the outcome of the election. America is built on the peaceful transfer of power and defeat, so Trump calling the entire election process into question would be—wait for it—pretty un-American. Trump’s campaign manager said the candidate will concede if voter fraud and irregularities are not present during the election, but you know the Trump campaign—they’re not necessarily likely to accept an outcome they don’t like, even if it’s based on “data” and “facts.”
Despite Trump’s best efforts, this move has not gained him any ground in the polls—which have been taking a strong dive since before the Access Hollywood tapes. Most polls show Clinton leading with Trump further behind. With the final debate coming up soon, many think Trump is too far behind to catch up and the debate is sink-or-swim for the campaign.
Trump is (clearly) fighting a losing battle and he knows it. But c’mon Trump, we’re just as tired of you as you are of this election. Can’t we just have a clean break?