Category Archives: Election Meltdown

During Thanksgiving Press Availability, Trump Engaged in Repeated, Despicable Lies About Hundreds of Thousands of Fraudulent Votes Cast in Each State, Trying to Explain His Election Loss; FOX News Broadcast It in Full without Fact Checking

November 27, 2020, 7:22 amElection Meltdown, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

You can watch the full remarks here. Let’s not be blasé about the President lying to the American people, falsely claiming hundreds of thousands of fraudulent votes being cast per state. This is horrible and despicable. He’s proved none… Continue reading

“‘Certainly I will’: Trump says he’ll leave if the electors vote for Biden.”

November 27, 2020, 7:10 amElection MeltdownRick Hasen

NYT: President Trump said on Thursday that he would leave the White House if the Electoral College formalized Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s election as president, even as he reiterated baseless claims of fraud that he said would make it “very… Continue reading

“This unnerving election does not bode well for the next one”

November 24, 2020, 5:46 pmElection MeltdownRick Hasen

Ned Foley WaPo column: In 2020, the plan backfired. The judicial shellacking of Trump’s fact-free claims gave backbone to these other political actors to withstand Trump’s all-out assault on letting the voters decide whom they wanted in the White House… Continue reading

Must-Read from NYT’s Alex Burns: “Trump Stress-Tested the Election System, and the Cracks Showed”

November 24, 2020, 2:13 pmElection MeltdownRick Hasen

I was going to write a piece like this until I read Alex’s: As President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election have steadily disintegrated, the country appears to have escaped a doomsday scenario in the campaign’s epilogue: Since… Continue reading

“Right-Wing Social Media Finalizes Its Divorce From Reality”

November 24, 2020, 12:03 pmcheap speech, Election MeltdownRick Hasen

Renee DiResta for The Atlantic: Yet reducing the supply of misinformation doesn’t eliminate the demand. Powerful online influencers and the right-wing demi-media—intensely partisan outlets, such as One America News and Newsmax, that amplify ideas that bubble up from internet message… Continue reading

“Trump bid to overturn vote crashes into wall of deadlines”

November 21, 2020, 1:59 pmchicanery, Election Meltdown, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Politico: President Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the election results is about to smash into reality: a gauntlet of battleground state deadlines that are poised to extinguish his increasingly desperate attempts to hold onto the presidency.Michigan is due to… Continue reading

Trump Summons Michigan Republican Legislative Leaders to Washington In Possible Attempt to Mess with Electoral College Vote: Should We Worry?

November 19, 2020, 10:10 amchicanery, Election MeltdownRick Hasen

The Detroit News reports: The top two leaders in the Republican-controlled Michigan Legislature are expected to visit the White House Friday, according to a source with knowledge of the plans.The visits by Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, and… Continue reading

Seriously Disturbing and Unprecedented: Trump Personally Reached Out to Wayne County Canvassers and Then They Attempted to Rescind Their Votes to Certify (After First Refusing to Certify)

November 19, 2020, 6:55 amchicanery, Election Meltdown, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

AP: Getting nowhere in the courts, President Donald Trump’s scattershot effort to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory is shifting toward obscure election boards that certify the vote as Trump and his allies seek to upend the electoral process, sow chaos… Continue reading

“Threats and Tensions Rise as Trump and Allies Attack Elections Process”

November 19, 2020, 6:46 amchicanery, Election Meltdown, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

NYT: President Trump’s false accusations that voter fraud denied him re-election are causing escalating confrontations in swing states across the country, leading to threats of violence against officials in both parties and subverting even the most routine steps in the… Continue reading

New York Times: Trump is Coup-Curious

November 12, 2020, 5:09 pmElection MeltdownRick Hasen

Maggie Haberman for the NYT: At a meeting on Wednesday at the White House, President Trump had something he wanted to discuss with his advisers, many of whom have told him his chances of succeeding at changing the results of… Continue reading

“Relax. Biden will be sworn in Jan. 20.”

November 11, 2020, 1:19 pmElection MeltdownRick Hasen

Ned Foley in WaPo: What if renegade judges do something crazy, or what if the litigation just delays certification of the popular vote long enough to prevent appointment of pro-Biden electors based on the popular vote? We can hypothesize such… Continue reading

My new one at The Atlantic: “Trump Needs Three Consecutive Hail Mary Passes; The president’s litigation strategy is unlikely to succeed, but it’s doing great harm in the meantime.”

November 11, 2020, 7:45 amElection MeltdownRick Hasen

I have written this piece for The Atlantic. It begins: Despite the clear math showing that Joe Biden has won the election, President Donald Trump has refused to concede. He has directed his legal team to keep on fighting to… Continue reading

The Downside of Humoring Trump and His Failure to Accept Election Defeat

November 10, 2020, 8:45 amElection MeltdownRick Hasen

Washington Post: Behind the scenes, Trump advisers and allies are increasingly resigned to a Biden victory, according to people familiar with internal discussions, who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity to share private conversations.But… Continue reading

NYT: AG Barr’s Action on Election Investigation Prompts Leading Voter Fraud Attorney to Step Down From Role; Investigations Appear to Involve Allegations Unsupported By Evidence

November 9, 2020, 7:33 pmDepartment of Justice, Election Meltdown, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

NYT: Attorney General William P. Barr, wading into President Trump’s unfounded accusations of widespread election irregularities, told federal prosecutors on Monday that they were allowed to investigate “specific allegations” of voter fraud before the results of the presidential race are… Continue reading