Donald Trump tells his supporters to call the COPS on Democrats 'when you see them cheating' and warns they will use 'millions of unsolicited ballots' to try and win the election
President Donald Trump told supporters to call the cops on Democrats 'when you see them cheating' as he again tried to sow doubt about the legitimacy of mail-in ballots.
'Early voting has already begun and when you see them cheating on the other side - I don't say if - when, when you see them cheating with those ballots, all of those unsolicited ballots, those millions of ballots, you see them,' Trump said. 'Anytime you do, report them to the authorities.'
The president added that 'the authorities are waiting and watching,' addressing a crowd at a campaign rally Monday night in Toledo, Ohio.
President Donald Trump told supporters to call 'the authorities' on Democrats 'when you see them cheating with those ballots, all of those unsolicited ballots, those millions of ballots,' as he again tried to sow doubt about Americans voting by mail
The president's comments continue his assault on widespread mail-in voting, which he suggests will be ripe for fraud - and also admitted might 'LEAD TO THE END OF OUR GREAT REPUBLICAN PARTY,' despite there not being proof of either claim
Trump's cryptic warning is the latest in a long line of comments made about widespread mail-in voting, something the Democrats have pushed so Americans don't have to show up to polling places in person this November amid a pandemic.
Trump and his Republican allies have launched legal challenges against increasing mail-in voting, with the president arguing it's susceptible to widespread fraud.
'IT WILL ALSO LEAD TO THE END OF OUR GREAT REPUBLICAN PARTY,' Trump tweeted in late May.
There's not evidence to support that universal mail-in voting would automatically give Democrats an edge. Nor is there proof that voting by mail would increase the chance of fraud. Trump, himself, votes absentee in Florida, but claims there's a difference.
The president already increased the risk of chaos at the polls when he said to supporters in Wilmington, North Carolina in early September that they should go to the polls after they've mailed in a ballot.
'If it's as good as they say it is, then obviously they won't be able to vote,' Trump said. 'If it isn't tabulated, they'll be able to vote. So that's the way it is. And that's what they should do.'
Playing clean up, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump wasn't instructing supporters to vote twice, but rather 'verify your vote.'
But the North Carolina Board of Elections asked voters who mailed in an absentee ballot to refrain from showing up on election day.
'The State Board office strongly discourages people from showing up at the polls on election day to check whether their absentee ballot was counted,' said Karen Brinson Bell, the executive director of the board. 'This is not necessary, and it would lead to longer lines and the possibility of spreading COVID-19.'
The North Carolina Board of Elections also reminded voters it was a Class 1 felony to intentionally vote twice. It's also illegal to solicit voters to vote twice, the statement said, The Washington Post reported.
Trump's comments Monday night were almost immediately met with ire by The Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump group of Republicans.
'Trump’s continued attack on our election remains the most shocking thing to come out of the mouth of a president,' The Lincoln Project tweeted, sharing video of that moment from the Ohio campaign stop.