Several prominent Democrats have sharply criticized Donald Trump’s Thursday night speech, in which he reiterated baseless conspiracy theories about the 2020 election being stolen and made unfounded claims about current election integrity.
Schumer Leads the Charge
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer described the address as a “pathetic attempt” by the former president to cast doubt on his 2020 loss. Schumer accused Trump of avoiding substantive policy discussions and instead “working to rig the midterms before a single vote has even been cast.” This comes as Trump’s approval rating stands at 37%, matching the level when he left office in 2021.
Schumer also dismissed Trump’s proposed Save America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote, asserting it “isn’t going anywhere” in Congress. “The courts have rejected it, Congress has rejected it, even members of your own party have rejected it — give it up,” Schumer stated.
Mockery and Warning from Democrats
Massachusetts Congressman Jim McGovern ridiculed Trump’s logic, saying: “Trump says Democrats forgot to rig the election in 2016, successfully rigged it while *he* was president in 2020, then forgot how to rig it again in 2024. So the only election Democrats supposedly stole was the one he himself controlled. You have to be a special kind of stupid to believe this bullshit.”
Republican pollster and Trump critic Sarah Longwell warned that Trump is “preemptively working to delegitimize America’s elections.” Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin argued there is “one simple reason” Trump and his GOP allies are “laying the groundwork” to interfere: “Republicans know they’re going to lose the midterms,” Martin said.
