Trump says missing second term was 'terrible,' calls 2020 election ‘rigged’ at governors’ dinner
🚨 JUST IN — PRESIDENT TRUMP NAILS IT: "When the election was rigged and I missed my normal 2nd term, I said, 'this is terrible...'"
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 22, 2026
"...but I got the Olympics and World Cup!"
"We have SO MANY different things we can be SO proud of." 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/WZDDdCPlzX
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump once again revisited his claims about the 2020 election during the National Governors Association Evening Dinner on February 21, speaking alongside former First Lady Melania Trump. Trump described missing a “normal second term” as “terrible” and reaffirmed his long-standing allegations of election irregularities.
His comments come amid ongoing federal investigations into his post-2020 election efforts and the recent FBI seizure of ballots and voting materials in Georgia.
Trump’s remarks on election fraud and calls for prosecution
During his remarks at the dinner, Trump emphasized his belief that the election was manipulated, saying, “You know, when the election was rigged, and I missed my, what, normal second term, I said, this is terrible."
He continued, "But I was the one that got the Olympics, and I was the one that got the World Cup. The problem was, I was going to be president for another four years… doing a good job in Louisiana. We did a good job in that very special city of yours, too, with crime, we cleaned it out.”
Last year, Trump called for a special prosecutor to investigate the 2020 election, echoing his long-standing, claims of widespread fraud.
In June 2025, he posted on Truth Social, “Biden was grossly incompetent, and the 2020 election was a total FRAUD! The evidence is MASSIVE and OVERWHELMING. A Special Prosecutor must be appointed. This cannot be allowed to happen again in the United States of America! Let the work begin!”
The January 6 committee’s final report in 2022 stated that Trump engaged in a “multi-part conspiracy” to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 election and failed to stop his supporters from attacking the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
According to the report, Trump’s false claims of widespread voter fraud resonated with his supporters and were amplified on social media, reinforcing distrust in government.
Trump pushes election probe as FBI collects ballots
In a January 2026 interview with the New York Times, Trump expressed regret for not involving the US National Guard to seize voting machines after his 2020 election defeat. He then questioned whether troops would have been “sophisticated enough” to execute such a plan.
The outlet noted that in late 2020, advisers including lawyer Sidney Powell and former national security adviser Michael Flynn reportedly suggested using the military or federal authorities to seize voting machines in key swing states to search for evidence of fraud, including presenting draft executive orders outlining the plan.
The most tangible result of Trump’s push to investigate the 2020 election was the FBI’s seizure of ballots and voting records from Fulton County, Georgia on January 28, 2026.
The affidavit used for the search originated with Trump’s legal adviser Kurt Olsen and relied on claims previously rejected in investigations and lawsuits, with no new evidence of conspiracies to undermine the election.
FBI agents were also authorized to collect all physical ballots from the 2020 general election, tabulator tapes, ballot images, and voter rolls, with the warrant also allowing review of electronically stored evidence.
The affidavit was made public under an order by District Court Judge JP Boulee, though some details, including the names of those claiming voter irregularities, were redacted.
