For six long years, Donald Trump don dey shout say dem steal di 2020 election from am. But now as di 47th president, e don use di full power of America and its law enforcement and intelligence agencies to back one big claim say there was a massive conspiracy to corrupt dat election and cover up treason.
For one unusual ‘Address to the Nation’ on Thursday night, Trump announce series of ‘revelations’ about election security wey go make di most gullible conspiracy believers happy. Di intelligence reports wey di allegations dey based on go be picked apart by experts.
To justify im sweeping indictment of di election system, Trump say there was di biggest conspiracy since Hitler and Stalin divide Poland. E claim say China government, mainstream media, Democrats, and ‘deep state’ civil servants all work together to steal election data, hack voting machines, corrupt voter rolls, and lift Joe Biden to White House, covering their tracks.
For one burst of fury wey likely come because news outlets no carry im speech live, e even claim say China pay journalists ‘large sums of money’ to write bad stories about am. But despite di big criminal network wey e talk, Trump no give any specific evidence of actual votes wey dem steal, fabricate, or miscount.
As election law expert Rick Hasen note: ‘What Trump did NOT do was even purport to show a single ineligible voter voted in the 2020 election, or that any voting machines were actually compromised, voting machines or voter registration databases breached, or election results inaccurately reported.’
Even di headline claims about China quickly get exploded. Senator Mark Warner, D-Va. of Senate Intelligence Committee, call Trump ‘shocking bombshells’ about China ‘totally bogus.’ Warner write: ‘The fact is our intelligence agencies unanimously agreed that China did not even try to change a single vote in the 2020 election.’
Di whole thing na smoke without fire. But dat one fit be enough to make well-meaning people doubt say their votes go dey counted fairly. Now e clear why Republicans dey ‘scared shitless’ about dis speech, as one Capitol Hill source tell Politico.
When im party need am to make concrete proposals to reduce cost of living and credibly promise to end war for Iran, Trump instead drag di GOP down di election denial rabbit hole further than ever. Im only concession to political reality na one brisk opening where e repeat say di country dey do well for every way.
So di only tin for am to do na to make sure im unbelievable record of success get rewarded by midterm voters. E say only fraud fit make Democrats win. Im prospective agenda on ‘election security’ aside from promises to investigate, prosecute, and punish all di Chinese-led conspirators, na again to demand immediate congressional passage of di SAVE America Act.
Dat one na bill to blow up voter rolls and greatly restrict voting by mail before di midterms. Republicans and Democrats don tell Trump many times say e no go happen. GOP Senator Thom Tillis try to foot-stomp am dat same day: ‘I have been trying to explain for nearly a year that the SAVE Act, whether it’s the SAVE Act, the SAVE America Act, the new SAVE legislation that’s being proposed in the House, all of them are fundamentally flawed and impossible to implement by this election.’
But nonetheless Trump once again make dis shoddy legislation di MAGA priority to top them all. E urge im viewers to bombard Congress with demands for am. E also cite one suspiciously timed new DHS report wey claim evidence of hundreds of thousands of non-citizens voting for Democratic-run states.
Dat one go be news to di many researchers wey don repeatedly find say non-citizen voting dey negligible. Presumably dem dey inside di Chinese conspiracy as well. So na you, na me, na anybody wey suppose say Donald Trump fit lose fair election.
