Fair, but with a Chance of Reign
During his NBC interview the other day, Trump was asked if he would support the results of the Mid-Term elections. I'm not quite sure why reporters ask him that, though I suppose it's one of the required things you do or lose your union card. Or maybe it's part of a private, inside joke that journalists play among one another. In any event, Trump answered that, “Yes. If the results are fair.” And also added that “we can’t allow cheating in elections.”
A couple things here. And I know it's stating the obvious. But these days, amid all the MAGOP muck that Trump and his cohorts throw out to obscure reality, "stating the obvious" has become almost a necessity. And so, first --
In fact, happily, we don’t allow cheating in elections. Indeed, if cheating is found, it’s prosecuted. Because it’s illegal, not “allowed.” There are profoundly few cases of illegal voting. Especially by undocumented voters, which is the Trump/MAGOP cry. In 2017, the Brennan Center did an analysis of the 2016 presidential election, looking at 42 jurisdictions – which combined comprised 23.6 million votes. What they found was that noncitizens were referred for investigation in only 30 cases—or 0.0001% of votes cast.
The deeply conservative Heritage Foundation, which has made a great cause of illegal voted by undocumented aliens, did a study of voter fraud during a period of 24 years. And they found 1,546 cases – in 24 years! Which averages to 64 cases a year – out of probably around 150 million votes. But even more to the point, of those cases it says it found…only 68 of those were by undocumented voters!!! That works out to a bit over two cases a year.
In fact, the only recent significant cheating in elections that we know of is by Trump himself and MAGOPs trying to steal the 2020 presidential race. Calling the Georgia Secretary of State and asking him “to find 11,780 votes.” And the effort by by MAGOPs (led by now-Speaker Mike Johnson) trying to block the counting of Electoral votes. And trying to pressure VP Mike Pence to not accept the results. And when all that failed, telling Insurrectionists to come to Washington, where they broke into the U.S. Capitol – with 1,500 of them arrested, but released from jail when Trump pardoned them.
And as for Trump saying he’d accept the Mid-Term results – that only comes, of course, with the Trumpian caveat, “As long as the results are fair.” For starters, this is exactly what he said when asked during the 2024 election. And we know – from long experience – that the only results Trump is emotionally capable of acknowledging as “fair” are the ones where he wins. And even when he wins he thinks he was cheated. Even when being elected, he ludicrously still insists he won California – which he lost by 20 points, and 3.2 million votes! Trump couldn’t even find 11,780 wished-for, supposedly missing votes in Georgia. And yet somehow, he still insists there are 3,200,000 stolen votes buried somewhere. You couldn’t find 11,780 stolen votes in California – let alone 3.2 million -- if you had every ICE agent and Border Control official in the country come to the state in aluminum hats looking for them with metal detectors, Geiger counters, Ouija boards, a million bloodhounds, and Mike Lindell leading the way with a budget so large that even he would have a hard time going bankrupt with it.
And the reason we know that Trump only thinks election results are fair when he and MAGOPs win is because he won in 2024 and hasn’t called the national election his go-to word, “rigged.” So, this would mean he believes Democrats rigged the election in 2020 (when he lost), but for some reason unknown even to his delusional mind with dementia decided to play completely fair in 2024 (when he won) and not try to rig the national vote to stay in power. As long as he won, he’s never called for an investigation of state results. Which, if he really believes that “we can’t allow cheating in elections,” he would absolutely call for investigations and send the FBI to collect votes saved in vaults – like he just did in Georgia for one race five years old.
But then, why investigate races you lost, when you can just claim they won and be done with it. After all, he now says he won Minnesota three times – a state he lost three times.
I’m glad that when the media covered Trump’s statements about “fairness” in election, they did generally point out that elections are fair. And that we don’t “allow” cheating in elections. But they also took his comments seriously, worth of discussion – rather than the disdain and dismissal they deserve, worthy of discussion only to point out that Trump always – and only – says he’ll accept election results as fair if he wins. And that Trump himself is the champion of cheating in elections.
Come on, media people, you’ve covered Trump and elections for a decade. You know his fascist standard for trying to create distrust in elections. You know it. So, don’t cover this like something meaningful to be put in perspective – cover it like it is. A fascist lie to undermine the election and democracy
One last thing, a bit off topic, but related enough. And that’s the Steve Bannon rant that got a lot of coverage of him saying “We’re going to have ICE surround the polls". And this got even-handed news coverage, as well. Despite it being against federal and state law. And despite Bannon being a convicted fraud. And despite, for all his influence as a past adviser, is currently a podcaster and not part of a "we". Because Bannon likes to provoke -- and con.
Well...
No, ICE agents are very unlikely to surround all polling places. For starters, the logistics are monumental. And as noted, it’s illegal. But if for some reason they do -- it will backfire, it will red-hot infuriate and spur more people to vote than would have otherwise. To be sure, it will probably keep a few minorities at home, understandably, but any who do stay home in fear of abuse (which includes both Democrats and MAGAs), most will likely just vote by mail. The rest -- who have nothing to fear, other than the loss of democracy -- will be so outraged they'll vote in maddening swarms. And vote against those supporting it.
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