Trump 'regrets' not seizing voting machines to overturn the 2020 presidential election
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump recently said he regretted not ordering the National Guard to seize voting machines after the 2020 presidential election, which he continues to claim was rigged.
Trump made the remarks during an interview with The New York Times last week, which the outlet continued to report on over the weekend. In a Sunday, January 11 report, journalists Alan Feuer and Ashley Ahn referenced the president’s comments about seizing voting machines.
Trump questions sophistication of the National Guard
The New York Times reported that President Donald Trump pressed both his then–Attorney General Bill Barr and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani on whether he could seize voting machines.
Barr rejected involving the Department of Justice in such an action, while Giuliani was rebuffed by the Department of Homeland Security. The outlet reported, “In the end, Mr Trump did not move forward with the proposal, a decision he said in the interview with The Times that he regretted,” while quoting the president directly.
Trump said, per the outlet, “Well, I should have.” When asked whether using the military to impound voting machines had been a viable option, Trump questioned the sophistication of the National Guard.
“I don’t know that they are sophisticated enough. You know, they’re good warriors. I’m not sure that they’re sophisticated enough in the ways of crooked Democrats, and the way they cheat, to figure that out,” the president said.
Trump marks Jan 6 anniversary with 'rigged election' claim
President Donald Trump used his remarks at the House Republican retreat on January 6 to challenge the legitimacy of the 2020 election, choosing the fifth anniversary of the Capitol riot to re-ignite claims of systemic voter fraud and institutional corruption.
Delivering a wide-ranging speech, Trump moved fluidly between grievances about election security, suspicions about former President Joe Biden’s decision-making, and broader attacks on Democratic-run states.
The president focused squarely on what he described as a broken electoral system and said American elections remain “crooked as hell.” Trump also criticized Biden for his alleged reliance on an autopen to sign official documents.
“You can always tell an autopen. One thing, it has two little tiny dots. Do you know what that’s from? Two pins,” Trump told GOP lawmakers.
He further insisted that Biden was never legitimately authorized to use the device and claimed that “95 percent” of Biden’s official documents were signed mechanically rather than personally.
He also mocked the idea of a distant staffer operating the machine and alleged that the individual “barely knew” Biden and had only spoken with him “twice about the weather.”
“The only thing he signed, which is nice, was Hunter’s pardon. Most of it he didn’t sign,” Trump added.
