Trump claims Putin told him 2020 election was 'rigged', blamed mail-in voting

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump is once again amplifying his debunked claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election — this time invoking Russian President Vladimir Putin as a source of validation.

Speaking during a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity on Friday, August 15, Trump recounted his recent meeting with Putin in Alaska, saying the Russian leader told him the American election system was “rigged” because of mail-in ballots.

Trump says Putin told him he was right about 2020 election rigging

“Vladimir Putin said something, one of the most interesting things,” Donald Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity. 

According to Trump, Putin said, “Your election was rigged because you have mail-in voting. He said there’s not a country in the world that uses it now. It’s impossible to have mail-in voting and have honest elections.”

The POTUS further claimed that the Russian leader insisted he had actually won the election by “so much” and suggested that a second Trump term might have prevented the current war in Ukraine.

“He said, ‘If you would’ve won, we wouldn’t have had a war,” Trump stated.

The president praised Putin as “a very smart guy” during his comments, before claiming that mail-in voting is riddled with abuse, saying, “Some people get seven ballots.”

Trump, who has repeatedly pushed the false claim that he, not Joe Biden, won the 2020 election, pointed to his shared views with Putin on absentee voting as he urged Republicans to step up efforts to push through the sweeping changes to the US voting system he has been demanding for years.

Internet reacts after Trump cites Putin to back up voter fraud claims

President Donald Trump stirred controversy after invoking Russian President Vladimir Putin to support his longstanding claims of US voter fraud, declaring that even Putin had said America’s elections were “rigged.” The remark immediately set off a wave of reactions online, with supporters and critics clashing over Trump’s reliance on Putin’s words.

One wrote, “Putin is right… mail-in voting is a big scam!” and another said, “I agree. Ban mail-in voting, and require ID to vote.”

Similarly, a person remarked, “The biggest scam in history is the mail-in ballot.”

Others pointed to broader election integrity concerns, with one writing, “Completely agree, mail-in voting and the machines counting votes are how Dems cheat.”

Another said, “Electronic machines are rigging our elections, mail-in voting just upped the game,” with one more claiming, “He’s right. There’s no country in THE WORLD that allows EVERYONE to get mail in ballots. Genuine Third World country stuff. India has over a billion people and one of the worst election infrastructures yet they count faster than us. We have the worst election system in the world.”

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.