Former President Donald Trump remains relentless in promoting the deranged fantasy that the 2020 election was "stolen" from him by Democrats engaging in widespread election fraud.
Nearly a year after losing the election, amid constant debunking of the conspiracy theory, Trump continues to regularly release unhinged statements perpetuating the same lies that led to the deadly failed insurrection against the United States Capitol.
In one such recent statement earlier this month, Trump appeared to discourage Republican voters from participating in the midterm and 2024 elections unless officials relented to his election lies by "fixing" the nonexistent widespread "fraud."
He wrote:
"If we don't solve the Presidential Election Fraud of 2020 (which we have thoroughly and conclusively documented), Republicans will not be voting in '22 and '24. It is the single most important thing for Republicans to do."
The threat generated mockery from Trump's critics, who proceeded to encourage Republican apathy in the upcoming midterm elections
In another statement on Thursday, Trump attempted to walk back his claim that Republicans wouldn't vote, emphasizing that he wasn't encouraging them to sit out the elections, but rather that they wouldn't be incentivized to vote.
Trump wrote:
"The statement that I made a few weeks ago saying that Republicans will not vote if the Election Fraud of 2020 is not fixed, was in no way meant to imply that I would tell them not to vote, but rather that they may not have the incentive to vote if the election process is not fully remedied, and quickly. It was the Crime of the Century. We are working on solving that problem every day—it will be done! People do not want to spend their time and money to have a SCAM like that happen again. Regardless of anything or anyone, we must get out the Republican and SANE VOTE!"
People couldn't help but laugh.
Trump's followers predictably fell in line
Democrats' prospects in the midterms are grim, but widespread Republican inaction would completely transform the races.
