President Trump said he’s not sure November’s election will be honest with unsolicited ballots, again casting doubt as to whether he would accept the results of the election.
Asked if the election results would only be legitimate if he wins, Trump did not answer, instead saying “we have to be very careful with the ballots,” calling mail-in voting a scam.
“We have to be very careful with the ballots, the ballots, that’s a whole big scam,” Trump told reporters before departing the White House on Thursday. “You know they found I understand eight ballots in a waste paper basket in some location,” he added referring to announcement, the Justice Department made about potential issues with a small number of mail-in ballots” in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
“We want to make sure the elections is honest, and I’m not sure that it can be, I don’t know that it can be with this whole situation, unsolicited ballots, they’re unsolicited, millions being sent to everybody,” Trump added.
His claims about unsolicited ballots are not accurate.
Facts First: While some sources estimate there will be around 80 million ballots submitted by mail this year, the President is wrong to suggest that they are all somehow unsolicited. In 41 of 50 states, voters have to request their ballot by mail before being sent one, with only a handful of states automatically sending mail-in ballots to all registered voters.
Trump also criticized Hillary Clinton for telling Joe Biden not to accept the results of the election. Of course, Clinton is not running for president this year and Trump is.
His comments about an “honest election” come one day after he refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power should he lose the election. "Well, we're going to have to see what happens," Trump said at a Wednesday news conference.
Earlier on Thursday, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany did not explicitly say Trump would accept the results of the election, only saying Trump would “accept the results of a free and fair election.” However the President himself continues to cast doubt on whether he will view this election as “free and fair.”
Watch the moment: