The first line of the Republican lawsuit makes clear its motivations: “Bad things are happening in Philadelphia.” That’s not a legal argument, and it’s unlikely to sway a judge in Philadelphia’s Court of Common Pleas.
But that’s not the point.
The lawsuit filed late Thursday on behalf of President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign, with language echoing his dig at Philadelphia during Tuesday’s debate, is the latest effort in a political operation to shape a false narrative that the results of the Nov. 3 election can’t be trusted. Especially if they hinge on Pennsylvania, a critical swing state that could determine the outcome.
Trump’s attacks on the election in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania now encompass all methods of voting — and how those votes are counted.