Trump Escalates Big Lie About U.S. Elections in Latest Assault on Our Democracy
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Trump has delivered a conspiratorial and lie-ridden speech to cast doubt on the fairness of U.S. elections and push his voter suppression bill that’s known as the SAVE America Act.
In response, Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert issued the following statement:
“Trump’s speech tonight is yet another example of his contempt for American democracy. Despite Trump’s own use of mail-in ballots, he’s now claiming that there is something inherently corrupt about the system. For that non-problem and others, he is pushing the so-called SAVE Act as a fix. Let’s be absolutely clear: The SAVE America Act is a voter suppression bill, and the president is pushing it, because he knows a robust democracy is bad for him in the midst of unprecedented unpopularity.
“Let’s also be clear about how our democracy works: It’s American voters who get to choose who represents us in our government. Our job is to make it easier for every eligible American to participate in our democracy, which is why Congress must stand up to this unhinged wanna-be dictator and block the passage of his anti-voter legislation.”
Public Citizen co-president Robert Weissman added:
“Donald Trump wants to cast doubt on the security of our elections because he knows things are going so poorly for him amid catastrophic policy failures and plummeting approval ratings. Trump is waging an illegal, unconstitutional and utterly pointless war that continues to put American and Iranian lives in jeopardy and drive up gas prices. Corporations are setting prices out of reach for people being paid too little. Trump rammed through tax cuts for the rich, paid for by cutting health care and food assistance for millions and millions of people. An out-of-control paramilitary force is kidnapping people off our streets and killing them at shocking rates. Trump’s delusional rantings tonight are a transparent effort to distract from these realities.
”What the president should have been talking about tonight is how he’s going to fix the disasters he’s created, and how he’s going to help Americans struggling with the cost of living, from rising gas prices to skyrocketing healthcare costs. Instead, Americans got the bitter grievances and ravings of a man who wants more power for himself at their expense.”