President Donald Trump on Tuesday morning turned the controversy over his indoor rally in Henderson, Nevada on Sunday into an opportunity to baselessly accuse Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) of fixing the state’s ballots to rig the election against him.
As he was attempting to blame Sisolak for the Trump campaign’s decision to hold the rally indoors, the President falsely claimed during a “Fox and Friends” interview that the governor “is the same guy that’s going to be in charge of the ballots” (in reality, Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske, who is a Republican, oversees and certifies the election results).
“Now [Sisolak] will cheat on the ballots, I have no doubt about it,” Trump said without providing evidence. He similarly made the baseless claim that “you’re going to see corruption like you’ve never seen” and a “rigged election” come November 3.
Trump had tweeted the same accusation late Monday night claiming that Sisolak “will use every trick in the book to cheat with Ballots.”
Again, it’s the Nevada secretary of state, not the governor, who supervises election ballot process while local elections officials handle the ballots themselves. Sisolak signed a bill allowing county officials to automatically send mail-in ballots to registered voters, which prompted the Trump campaign to sue the state last month in the President’s war against voting by mail.
Trump’s tirade on Tuesday is part of the President’s efforts to delegitimize the election and claim it’s being “rigged” against him as he trails his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, in the polls.
The President’s comments also come after facing backlash over holding a campaign rally indoors despite the COVID-19 pandemic, a move which Sisolak slammed as “shameful, dangerous and irresponsible” on Sunday night.
Trump defended the rally the next day, saying “I’m on a stage, and it’s very far away.”
Listen to Trump below:
Trump throws out an evidence-free accusation against NV governor, he'll "cheat" the election with the state's ballots. pic.twitter.com/k6EwHPTJS3
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) September 15, 2020
