Trump then tweeted an all-caps missive with many of the debunked claims he’s been pushing all year: “RIGGED 2020 ELECTION: MILLIONS OF MAIL-IN BALLOTS WILL BE PRINTED BY FOREIGN COUNTRIES, AND OTHERS.
In a third tweet Monday morning, Trump said “Because of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, 2020 will be the most RIGGED Election in our nations history – unless this stupidity is ended,” and accused his political opponents of “using Covid in order to cheat by using Mail-Ins,” without providing proof.
This new line from Trump — that foreign countries might hijack mail-in voting to meddle in the US election — puts him in a contorted position.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which plays a leading role in identifying and countering foreign election security threats, declined to address Trump’s claim that foreign governments will “print millions” of mail-in ballots in the upcoming election.
Trump’s claims on Monday were part of a larger effort to tarnish the legitimacy of mail-in voting, which the President claims will help only Democrats, even though nonpartisan researchers consistently say it doesn’t provide any major partisan advantage.