Trump Spreads Claims About 'Rigged Election' As Poll Numbers Slide

Following the disappointing attendance for his campaign rally in Tulsa, President Trump on Monday took to Twitter and made unsubstantiated claims about voter fraud, warning of a “rigged election.” The tweet included an article with Attorney General William Barr’s comment about mail-in voting leading to voter fraud, a claim that Trump has often repeated despite it being widely debunked.

“This will be the Election disaster of our time,” Trump said in an initial tweet. “Mail-In Ballots will lead to a RIGGED ELECTION!”

Trump continued in two more tweets with unfounded claims that foreign countries would print mail-in ballots to skew the results. He also accused his political opponents of using the coronavirus pandemic as a pretext to cheat in the general election.

“That info is FALSE,” David Becker, founder of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation and research, tweeted in response to Trump's claims. “There is zero evidence to support it, and states have many protections in place to prevent rigging of mail ballots.”

Despite Trump’s claims that Democrats stand to benefit more from mail-in voting, studies have found that they do not tend to give an advantage to any party.

Trump also claimed in October 2016 that the election was rigged, as polls showed him trailing in the general election. A recent poll from Reuters showed presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden at 48%, with Trump at 35%. The incumbent has lagged behind Biden in every Reuters poll, with the latest figures representing the largest gap in support.