Trump Casts Doubt on Midterm Election Results
Trump’s history of election denial
Trump was sowing doubt on the 2020 election before voting began, telling the public that August that “the only way we’re going to lose this election is if the election is rigged.”
Following his loss, Trump refused to concede to Biden. Instead, he began to spread conspiracy theories about widespread election fraud, without evidence.
On Nov. 7, 2020, shortly before news organizations projected Biden’s victory, Trump falsely declared on Twitter that he had “WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!”
Echoing Trump’s false claims also became a test of loyalty within the Republican Party, with House Speaker Mike Johnson, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, and former Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene among those who espoused the false view.
Trump and his allies filed 62 lawsuits challenging or seeking to overturn the results between Nov. 4, 2020, and Jan. 6, 2021, according to the House Jan. 6 committee. Only one produced a victory—a narrow Pennsylvania ruling that didn’t establish fraud or change the outcome. Some cases were dismissed on procedural grounds; others failed on the merits.
