President Donald Trump described voting by mail as “cheating” at an event in Memphis, Tennessee, just days after casting a mail-in ballot himself in a Florida special election.
Records show Trump voted by mail in the House district 87 election, which includes his Mar-a-Lago club, endorsing Republican candidate Jon Maples against Democrat Emily Gregory. He chose mail despite early in-person voting being available until Sunday in Palm Beach.
Trump has renewed baseless claims that mail voting is subject to widespread fraud, while pressuring Senate Republicans to pass a restrictive voting bill requiring proof of citizenship and a near-total ban on mail ballots.
White House spokesperson Olivia Wales called the president’s mail vote “a non-story”, citing exceptions in the SAVE America Act for illness, disability, military, or travel, but argued universal mail voting is “highly susceptible to fraud”.
This is not the first time Trump voted by mail while attacking the practice; he did so in the 2020 presidential primary despite warning Democrats would “steal” the election via mail ballots.
