Trump has said that the 2020 election is “rigged.” The midterms are coming up soon; for the past 107 days

President Donald Trump has reiterated his unfounded assertion that the 2020 election was taken from him at least 107 times over the past six months, maintaining the focus on this grievance despite facing new political challenges from the conflict with Iran and the upcoming midterm elections.

Trump dedicates nearly daily focus to the issue, as revealed by a Reuters examination of his public events, interviews, and online posts, with his remarks frequently appearing in clusters. On a Saturday in April, during a delicate ceasefire with Iran, Trump made allegations regarding the 2020 election—where he was defeated by his predecessor Joe Biden—seven times on his Truth Social account.

He has reiterated his claims during at least six meetings with world leaders, two celebrations of professional sports teams, and the White House observances of Hanukkah and Christmas. During unscripted comments at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January, he stated, “people will soon be prosecuted for what they did.

He restated his assertions of a manipulated election during a White House picnic for lawmakers last week and once more while addressing reporters prior to boarding Air Force One. “If we had Jesus Christ come down and count the votes, I would have won California,” Trump remarked about the consistently Democratic state he lost by 29 percentage points in 2020 and over 20 percentage points in 2024. “However, it’s an unfair election.”

Aides and interviewers frequently disregard his remarks, while critics label them as the reflections of a disgruntled competitor.

Trump’s unwavering emphasis on 2020 suggests a strategic approach designed to validate new voting restrictions, strengthen party loyalty, and invigorate supporters in anticipation of the November elections that will decide control of Congress, as indicated by two White House officials and two individuals familiar with the situation who requested anonymity to share their insights openly.

By framing the 2020 election as illegitimate, he is simultaneously setting the stage to contest Republican losses and weaken Democrats should they regain power, according to several election experts. “This is not about the past; it’s focused on the midterms,” stated Alexandra Chandler, an election expert at the nonpartisan advocacy organization, Protect Democracy. He is attempting to generate a haze of misinformation with this. Therefore, if he escalates the situation with federal involvement, the public will likely not be caught off guard.

In April, despite having initiated a national redistricting conflict months prior, Trump criticized the outcomes of Virginia’s election to redraw U.S. congressional district maps as “rigged,” failing to present any evidence of fraud.

“President Trump is dedicated to guaranteeing that Americans possess complete trust in the election process, which encompasses maintaining voter rolls that are entirely accurate, current, and devoid of errors or unlawfully registered non-citizen voters,” stated White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson.

Republican voters showing support for misleading assertions

Trump’s rhetoric has resonated with Republican voters. A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in April revealed that 63% of Republican voters continue to believe Trump’s unfounded assertion that the 2020 election was stolen, a figure that has remained relatively stable over the past few years.

An even larger proportion of Republicans – 82% – expressed agreement that a significant number of fraudulent ballots are submitted by non-citizens in U.S. elections.

In contrast, merely 9% of Democrats and 21% of independents expressed the belief that Trump lost in 2020 because of misconduct, while 18% of Democrats and 38% of independents voiced worries regarding non-citizens casting fraudulent ballots.

Numerous courts, state officials, and previous reviews have determined that there is no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.

Despite this, Trump appointed an election-security czar last year to re-examine his 2020 defeat. According to a report by Reuters in April, the recent probes have not uncovered any new evidence. Last year, administration officials reportedly aimed to prohibit voting machines utilized in over half of U.S. states while considering ways for the federal government to exert control over state-run elections, according to a report by Reuters last week.

In December, Trump’s rhetoric from 2020 grew more intense as he pursued a pardon for Tina Peters, a Colorado county clerk found guilty by the state of tampering with voting machines following that election. He reiterated the allegations while urging congressional Republicans to advance his Save America Act, which would mandate proof of citizenship for voting, and once more as he intensified his criticism of mail-in voting.

Although the U.S. Senate has not succeeded in moving forward with Trump’s nationwide voting changes, many states have adopted comparable proof-of-citizenship mandates and more stringent identification requirements.

Trump has signed executive orders aimed at restricting mail-in voting; however, these actions are presently facing legal challenges from Democrats.

SOME REPUBLICANS ARE RESISTING

Meanwhile, Trump has leveraged his 2020 assertions to shift responsibility for persistent global conflicts and domestic policy disagreements.

In December, as the conflict in Ukraine continued despite Trump’s 2024 campaign promise to settle it in a day, the U.S. president informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that the “rigged” U.S. election facilitated Russia’s 2022 invasion. In February, he informed families who had suffered the loss of loved ones in immigration-related crimes that they would be “home with your son, daughter” if the election had not been “rigged.”

The 2020 election has turned into a loyalty test for numerous nominees of Trump for significant federal positions, including judicial selections, who have declined under oath to affirm to Democratic senators that Biden emerged victorious. They state merely that Congress certified the election in his favor.
However, certain Republicans are expressing resistance.

RightCount, a coalition of Republicans in key battleground states, has recently revived a campaign aimed at safeguarding the integrity of state-administered elections and opposing Trump’s attempts to nationalize them.

All the accusations that have been made have all been refuted, but he doesn’t want to listen,” stated former Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, a supporter of Trump and a member of the group.

Following his defeat in the Republican primary in Louisiana last week, where Trump declined to support him, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy targeted the president’s allegations of election rigging during his concession speech. Cassidy incurred the president’s anger by backing his impeachment following the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack carried out by Trump supporters attempting to halt the certification of the 2020 election.

“When you engage in democracy, there are times when the outcome may not align with your expectations,” Cassidy remarked. “But you don’t sulk.” You refrain from complaining. You do not assert that the election was taken unlawfully.