Former President Donald Trump continues to make headlines with his persistent dissemination of misinformation and unfounded conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 presidential election. As he faces felony charges over his efforts to overturn the election results, Trump’s campaign to undermine public confidence in the American electoral process remains a multiyear endeavor.
Recent polls from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research reveal that 57 percent of Republicans believe Joe Biden was not legitimately elected as president. In this comprehensive examination, we delve into the verified facts regarding Trump’s loss in the 2020 election.
1. Reviews and Recounts Confirm Biden’s Victory:
- The 2020 election saw Joe Biden’s substantial victory in both the Electoral College (306 votes to Trump’s 232) and the popular vote (a margin exceeding seven million ballots).
- Crucially, the Electoral College determines the presidency, focusing the race on a select few battleground states.
- Many of these states conducted meticulous recounts and reviews of the election results, all of which affirmed Biden’s triumph.
- In Arizona, a six-month review in Maricopa County, commissioned by Republican state legislators, validated Biden’s victory and indicated that he should have secured an additional 306 votes.
- Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin undertook multiple statewide counts, all reconfirming Biden’s wins.
2. Minimal Voter Fraud in Swing States:
- An exhaustive 2021 investigation by The Associated Press uncovered fewer than 475 instances of confirmed voter fraud across six crucial battleground states.
- These instances predominantly involved individual actors, not coordinated attempts to rig the election.
- Registered Democrats and Republicans alike were responsible for these cases, and culprits were often apprehended before their fraudulent ballots were counted.
- Some cases appeared to result from intentional fraud, while others stemmed from administrative errors or voter confusion.
- The review revealed no evidence supporting Trump’s claims that states tabulated more votes than registered voters.
- In essence, Biden’s victory in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—totaling 79 Electoral College votes—was secured by a margin of 311,257 votes out of 25.5 million cast, with disputed ballots accounting for just 0.15 percent of his margin in these states.
3. Trump’s Administration Found No Widespread Fraud:
- Trump was consistently advised by members of his administration that there was no evidence of widespread fraud.
- The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) labeled the 2020 election the most secure in American history.
- Attorney General William Barr stated that no widespread voter fraud altering the election’s outcome had been uncovered.
- Administration officials and White House staff refuted Trump’s allegations of fraud, as detailed in the January 6 committee report.
4. Courts Rejected Trump’s Legal Challenges:
- The Trump campaign and its allies pursued numerous legal challenges to the election across various state and federal courts.
- Claims of voter fraud and misconduct were heard and consistently dismissed by dozens of courts, including those with judges appointed by Trump.
- The U.S. Supreme Court also declined multiple efforts to overturn election results in battleground states won by Biden.
5. Unfounded Claims About Voting Machines:
- Trump and his legal team propagated false allegations concerning voting machine manipulation, foreign involvement, and seized servers.
- These claims lacked substantiation and were debunked by federal agencies and cybersecurity experts.
- CISA’s post-election statement emphasized that there was no evidence of voting system tampering.
- Fox News aired these claims, leading to a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems, ultimately settled for $787.5 million.
6. Debunked Claims Involving “Suitcases” and “Ballot Mules”:
- Trump and his supporters alleged “suitcases” filled with fraudulent ballots in Georgia and a conspiracy involving “ballot mules.”
- Independent investigations revealed that these allegations were unfounded.
- The “suitcases” were standard ballot containers, and claims of “ballot mules” were discredited due to flawed analysis of data.
Despite an overwhelming body of evidence and court rulings affirming the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump persists in disseminating misinformation and unfounded conspiracy theories. This campaign aimed at undermining public trust in the electoral process continues to be a cornerstone of his political strategy as he contemplates a potential return to the White House in 2024.