Election Day is still six weeks away, but in some states, early voting is already underway. With this in mind, Donald Trump made clear during his latest rally in Pennsylvania that he’s simultaneously both for and against early voting and absentee ballots. NBC News reported:
“We got to get out and vote. You can start right away. You know that right now, we have this stupid stuff where you can vote 45 days early,” Trump said. He mused about “what the hell happens” during the period between the start of early voting and Election Day, claiming election fraudsters “move” votes from one candidate to another.
While those claims were demonstrably wrong, the Republican nevertheless went on to call the existing system “terrible,” even as he encouraged supporters to take advantage of the process he considers “stupid.”
"Now we have this stupid stuff where you can 45 days early" — Trump craps on early voting and suggests it's rigged pic.twitter.com/nAl6FG0ePW
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 23, 2024
The former president made no effort to address, or even acknowledge, the contradiction, which probably won’t help confused voters.
Even as Republican officials practically beg their party’s voters to take advantage of early voting, Trump can’t seem to make up his mind. Two weeks ago, for example, he condemned mail-in voting as “terrible.” Just three days earlier, however, Trump released a TikTok video encouraging his supporters to take advantage of early voting opportunities, including voting by mail.
That contradicted a related message he pushed a week earlier, insisting that mail-in voting should be abolished altogether. Around the same time, Trump called early voting “ridiculous.”
In July, the former president said Americans should not be “allowed” to vote early, adding that early voting is inherently rigged, reality notwithstanding.
A month earlier, Trump endorsed early voting. At a campaign event on May 11, however, the former president condemned mail-in voting
Two days earlier, the Republican released a video online in which he specifically touted “absentee voting” and “early voting,” which was the opposite of what he told Newsmax’s Greg Kelly two weeks earlier.
Six days prior, Trump said the opposite, publishing a message to his online social media platform endorsing “absentee voting” and “early voting.”
As regular readers know, these incoherent shifts have been ongoing for quite a while. After the 2022 midterm elections, for example, Trump wrote via social media, “YOU CAN NEVER HAVE FAIR & FREE ELECTIONS WITH MAIL-IN BALLOTS — NEVER, NEVER, NEVER.” (In case that was too subtle, one day later, the Republican re-published the missive, adding, “NEVER!”)








